Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why would some if not most functional medicine doctors who specialize in digestive disorders charge a lot of money if traditional health insurance offered by employers to their employees dont cover such treatments? If these doctors are quacks and there are many skeptics, then why charge a lot for their fees?
Why would some if not most functional medicine doctors who specialize in digestive disorders charge a lot of money if traditional health insurance offered by employers to their employees dont cover such treatments? If these doctors are quacks and there are many skeptics, then why charge a lot for their fees?
Why would some if not most functional medicine doctors who specialize in digestive disorders charge a lot of money if traditional health insurance offered by employers to their employees dont cover such treatments? If these doctors are quacks and there are many skeptics, then why charge a lot for their fees?
I asked a functional medicine doctor why he doesn't accept insurance.
Working with insurance companies you have to go with their rules. Medicare for example limits the time the doctor can spend with a patient. A functional medicine doctor may charge a lot of money, but will spend a lot of time.
I asked a functional medicine doctor why he doesn't accept insurance.
Working with insurance companies you have to go with their rules. Medicare for example limits the time the doctor can spend with a patient. A functional medicine doctor may charge a lot of money, but will spend a lot of time.
Medicare does not limit time spent. It might pay more for more time spent, but that's it.
My guess is that insurance does not cover what this doc does, since treatments are not approved and skirt medical standards of care.
Medicare pays a set amount for a doctor's visit; many doctors charge more than that amount, and have plenty of patients that will pay the higher price. They would lose money with every medicare visit.
Medicare pays a set amount for a doctor's visit; many doctors charge more than that amount, and have plenty of patients that will pay the higher price. They would lose money with every medicare visit.
Possibly. Depends on many things, including volume and overhead. And if the doc employs mid-levels. There are set reimbursements for visit levels 1 through 5. Medicare also provides some primary care bonuses through Wellness visits for instance. As a primary care/Internist, I could stay open with Medicare alone before I quit in 2018.
Functional medicine is a type of patient care, it's not a type of actual medicine. If the functional medicine practitioner specializes in holistic health care, then no - medicare will not usually cover that care. If the functional medicine practitioner provides the same kinds of medical treatments that doctors who don't call themselves functional medical practitioners provide, then those treatments and services would typically be covered.
The problem is with the functional practitioner who offers a variety of services and treatments. His office has to know which things to bill the insurance company for, and which things to not bill the insurance company for. He has to keep all of these types of treatments and services separate because if he includes (for example) a recommendation for homeopathic remedies to treat digestive upset, then the entire visit will -not- be covered by insurance.
Much easier to simply say "our office does not participate in insurance plans."
I just started seeing a functional/integrative medicine doctor. She takes insurance. She is new to functional medicine. I am happy with her so far. For example, she knows about adaptogens, which my previous regular doctor had never heard of.
because they can...my post was in regard to post #1
Last edited by ZSP; 04-26-2022 at 04:19 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
