Understanding Insurance

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Understanding what’s covered — and what’s not — is part of your responsibility as a patient. Our current medical system incentivizes providers to spend less time with patients, reimbursing physicians for minimal visit times. A 2017 report found that MD’s spend an average of 18.9 minutes of face-to-face time with each patient… often less time than you’d spend in the waiting room. This model requires doctors to see up to 20+ patients per day, and for naturopathic doctors who typically spend MUCH more time with their patients, the American allopathic insurance model often isn’t feasible.

As an out-of-network provider, I do not directly bill insurance companies for services provided. Instead, you’ll pay out-of-pocket at the time of booking then receive a Superbill at the end of each visit which can be submitted to your insurance company for reimbursement. By not billing directly, insurance companies can’t dictate what is medically necessary and limit your treatment options. Full transparency means you won’t receive a surprise bill from your insurance company months after your visit, putting the power back in your hands.

  • Routine lab tests ordered through LabCorp are often covered by insurance. If you have not yet met your yearly deductible however, you may be responsible for the full cost of labs. Contact your insurance company directly to confirm your coverage. Out-of-pocket lab tests ordered through third-party services like Rupa Health, Fullscript, and Life Extensions may be preferable and are often billed at a lower rate.

  • Many insurance plans will allow use of FSA/HSA for payment of naturopathic services. Contact your insurance company to see if this applies to you.

  • You reserve the right to request specific laboratory testing. I am happy to review past lab and imaging results that have been ordered by other providers if available. Please upload all relevant medical documents to your patient portal prior to our initial visit.

  • Patients are fully responsible for understanding insurance coverage for medical services, laboratory testing, and reimbursement. Please do keep me updated on your insurance process so that we can understand together and make the best shared decision for your health care needs.