Last February, I elected to try a chiropractic office that was running a new patient special on their website - $39 for the first appointment, which included an hour massage with a massage therapist and an appointment with the chiropractor. (It is still on their website.)
Immediately, there were "issues" with redeeming my $39 coupon. The receptionist did not seem to know how to honor it. A woman (the office manager?), came out and assured me it would be honored. It was not. Classic "bait and switch". My hour massage was fine, but the appointment with the chiropractor was a disaster. I was seen by her for about 7 minutes - 4 of which were her reviewing my intake paperwork with me. I was on the table for no more than 3 minutes where she cracked my neck to the left and right. She tried to crack my spine, but couldn't. Her advice was to start coming in 3-4 times a week.
I went back a week later and my second appointment was worse. Before seeing the chiropractor, a massage therapist came in and rubbed my shoulders for 2-3 minutes. The office billed my insurance and me $41 for a minimum 15-minute therapeutic procedure. (So to do the math, I paid about $20 per minute for that massage. Had I known they were going to bill for 15 minutes, I would have demanded my other 12-13 minutes. At least that would have brought the cost down to $2-3 a minute.) The chiropractor came in for about 4 minutes - 2 minutes to confirm my paperwork and 2 minutes to put me on the table, crack my neck right and left, attempt to manipulate my spine (but couldn't), and reiterate that I should be coming in 3-4 times a week. So in total, I was seen for about 6-7 minutes this appointment.
My third (and final) appointment a week later was the worst of all. Again, a massage therapist came in and rubbed my shoulders and neck for 2-3 minutes (but billed 15 minutes). As before, the chiropractor saw me for about 4 minutes, cracked my neck, couldn't crack my back, and was prepared to leave. While still on the table, I essentially said "HEY! Maybe you could do your job?!" So she cracked my shoulders - right and left - about an extra 20 seconds of service. This is the only appointment where I might have been seen for the 8 minutes necessary for their services to even be billable to insurance.
Leaving this appointment, I assumed my interactions with the office were over. I had paid upfront and in full for the initial appointment and a co-pay at the second and third appointment. Months later, I received a bill from the office. My initial appointment that was to be a $39 flat rate was now $140. The $39 I paid in the office was not credited on my account. There were charges from the second and third appointment for services they did NOT perform (see below). Both my husband and I have called the office for months with no resolution. Rather than work with us even in a nominal way, the office manager has threatened putting the account in collections. Despite my insurance company assuring me that I do not need to give them more money pending the completion of their investigation, I have paid the bill just to make this company go away. After months of headaches, it is easier to pay now and get the refund later.
This office's bad business practices include unprofessional office staff and expecting patients to wait 30+ minutes past their appointment time before seeing a chiropractor. My second and third appointment, I waited 20 minutes in the outer lobby and another 10 in an examination room before being seen by the massage therapist. There was another long wait before the chiropractor came in.
This office's illegal practices include "bait and switch" to get new patients in the door and fraudulent billing practices to insurance companies for services they are not performing or underperforming. They did not manipulate the 3-4 regions of the spine for which they billed at each appointment. More egregious, no therapeutic procedures of 15 minutes were conducted on the visits as appear on my bill. (I was lucky if, between the massage therapist AND the chiropractor, someone spent more than 6-7 minutes with me.) There is a minimum amount of time they are obligated to spend with a patient in order to bill insurance. They simply did not do it. Despite months of calling the office, there has been no resolution with them. They simply will not honor their internet special and/or apply the $39 I paid that day towards my account. With no other options, I have reported them to my insurance company for fraud, have filed a complaint against them with the state and the BBB, and am sharing this information here so others do not have to endure what I have with this office. Having now seen their billing practices, the chiropractor's adamant advice of coming in 3-4 times a week is obviously suspect. Can you imagine the astronomical bill had I done so?! read more
