Hey docs,
Just a short note... I'm reactivating my blog so that I can keep those people who are truly interested and want to learn from me in the know.
It used to be and still is in some chiropractic circles especially with the so called chiropractic coaches, especially for the guys who haven't been in practice for years if not decades, that to be successful and make huge money as a chiropractor, get patients who have great insurance! Then Bill the hell out of it and wait for the mailman to bring you checks! NOT!
Listen to me... Really listen.
There are a lot of chiropractic coaches, consultants and cheerleaders who are NOT in practice at all and they DON'T know what the PULSE of practice is or what's actually going on in our profession.
The insurance companies are slick, very slick and they are always trying to figure out how to "stick it" to doctors, all doctors, and especially to chiropractors.
They can't get chiropractors these days on "insurance fraud" so what are they to do?
Well, the insurance companies new strategy to get chiropractors is to "audit" them for past years services and then "charge" the chiropractor with a request to return monies paid to him for prior years services because it was "not medically necessary".
Some of the guys who have been hit with these billing attacks from insurance companies have reported that they have been forced to pay back monies paid from services all the way back to the year 2000.
So, what will happen is that the insurance company will request notes, records and all information that you have available for a certain patient for a 3 year period for example, they request records for years 2000, 2001, and 2002.
The problem is that we are now in year 2013, and how many of us have records of any kind for year 2000?
Some of these guys have been forced to pay thousands and thousands of dollars and even though some guys have fought back, you as a chiropractor don't have the resources, money or lawyers that the insurance companies have in their coffers.
I was recently talking to a chiropractor in Ohio who only found out that he was broke when he was shopping at Costco and then when he was checking out and his ATM card didn't work for payment.
So, he hurries home to check his bank account only to find to his horror that all of his money, all of it is gone, and gone forever.
What happened to this poor guy is that in addition to being audited by insurance companies, he was audited by Medicare and medicare assessed him a bill of $786,000 that they wanted back because of his purported failure to properly document care necessity and that his record keeping was not in 100% in compliance.
"But PHIL. I have the most sophisticated software in the world and that it makes all my notes and I'll never not be in compliant".
You really think that? LOL
Listen, cowboys, medicare is just like the insurance companies in that they don't want to pay out money for services for any doctors, let alone "Chiropractors"? Ugghhhh
They hate us, they really do.
The Ohio doc ended up losing his money, his farm and they attached his house, and he's in a world of grief and stress and because it's the government, you can't fight them. You might think you can but you really can't.
You want to sleep better at night?
Go cash, all the way.
Because of the bull and all the baloney that goes with insurance and medicare, it's just not worth it.
The Innate In Me... Blesses The Innate In You... Peace! :)
