I was turned away from this practice, after explaining that my daughter has been suffering for over 5 years from a chronic condition that none of her allopathic doctors have been able to diagnose or treat, because I didn't have $700 up-front, which is the cost of just the initial consultation. Given that other holistic practitioners and naturopaths in the area charge anywhere from $100-500 for a consultation, I would have hoped that, with a consultation fee much higher than that, the office would at least be willing to work with me, but when I asked about working out a payment plan, I was told I could try to bill my insurance. And then I was told that though they "really don't like to do this," I could pay $350 up front and $350 the next month. Maybe this is done with the intention of "weeding out" people who aren't willing to totally commit to their health plan (?) but my issue isn't an unwillingness to pay for my daughter's health care; my issue is that I also have two other children with special/medical needs that I have to pay for, and need a payment plan in order to make payments of that magnitude.
While it's certainly within Mr. Smeltzer's right to charge whatever he wants for his services, it doesn't do a lot to foster an impression of a caring practice, when someone who is desperate for help is turned away because they aren't wealthy enough to pay for a $700 consult up-front.
After seeing my daughter suffer every day for over 5 years, I had finally dared a little hope, thinking that a holistic practitioner might offer us some help, but that hope was crushed pretty quickly when I realized I wasn't wealthy enough. I won't be petty and leave a one-star review out of spite, but I do think it is worth three stars to let people know this "caring" and "kind" practice is only caring and kind if you are in the upper echelon of society. "You don't have enough money for me to treat your daughter, no matter how much she's suffering," just doesn't mesh with a reputation as someone who genuinely cares about helping people. read more