I made an appt for an adjustment due to an accident. When I called to make the appointment, they…read morewere three weeks out. That was actually great because the nature of my accident meant that I couldn't get adjusted right away. I sent them my insurance information, which is Kaiser, and waited patiently for my appointment. On the day that I arrived, the receptionist informed me that they would be charging me an extra $40 on top of my co-pay because "Kaiser is very unhelpful, doesn't pay them enough or in a timely manner"
I was not willing to pay additional money outside of my co-pay for their "inconvenience". So I left and I sent a follow-up email to the owner. Not necessarily about the fee, but the lack of communication leading up to the appt. They KNEW I had Kaiser and it would have been a great time to communicate the additional fee.
Also, if it is such a pain, why do they even accept Kaiser insurance. See below for my email to the clinic and the owners arrogant and unprofessional response :
Me: Well - like I told you- and you were very nice- I just wish I had been notified prior to my appt that you were going to charge me extra because I had Kaiser Insurance.
I haven't been to a new chiro in a few years- but I've never been charged extra outside of what my insurance will pay for my care.
It was a massive inconvenience to schedule this appt 3 weeks in advance, right in the middle of my workday - just to be told my copay I was expecting would be more than double.
I even sent the info over that I was a Kaiser patient weeks ago. If you look at the prior email thread. That would have been a great time to inform me of the additional charge.
I was just looking for a chiropractor- I don't need any general practice care or office exams- I see my PCP on a reg basis. And it wasn't made clear there would be additional services or charges besides just a chiropractic exam.
I guess- long story short- I just wish communication had been more clear up front.
Robs response:
Lacye,
I'm sorry that you were disappointed by the extra charge on top of your copay. Here's the deal: CHP pays us an amount that is downright insulting. My compromise was to continue to see patients and let them use their insurance but I had to charge them extra due to the extremely low reimbursement rates. For example, (as I have kaiser insurance as well), an MD who does a 20min telehealth visit gets around $230 via kaiser. I get for a 30min visit $44 including your copay, which is insulting and is also untenable to continue to stay in practice. Now if you are only looking for a quick 10min visit then I'm sure you'll find plenty of places that you can get that type of in/out treatment. However, we go above and beyond, we treat first visits for an hour and follow ups for 30mins, as we want to address all issues in a holistic way, meaning not just address your pain, but also where it's coming from and why it's happening. We are required to do an exam at the first visit and after it has been 6mos since the prior visit. Thus, the only way to continue to keep accepting CHP/Kaiser was to charge patients extra money since they don't cover soft tissue work, extremity adjustments or any type of extremity work, etc.. They only pay for a spinal adjustment, which is like 5-10mins of our time. In the future you could get a referral from your primary and then their wouldn't be an extra charge as an option. I truly would rather not do this type of thing, but I couldn't stay in business if I was to accept what they paid me. Thanks for your time and understanding, and also not understanding about how insurance works and thinking, what? That we were trying to screw you over? That we were being dishonest? Did you stop to think about reimbursement rates, about how long we spend with you? About how much time we spend actually touching your body, listening to you? Does your MD do that? Do they actually touch you, feel where you're having issues? Probably not. If you'd like to reconsider paying us, that would be great! If not, then you can rest with the guilt that a doctor spent their time with you and you couldn't be bothered to understand what your insurance actually pays out and you walked out.
Dr. Rob Bodner, DC, LMT
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Needless to say- I'm reporting this to Kaiser and the chiropractic board for review.
I will allow you to make your own decisions about whether or not you should do business with someone who feels so emboldened to send an email like this.