Today I am on a bit of a rant. A patient came into the office after being involved in an automobile accident. She had a herniated disc in her neck, pinching a nerve going into her arm, causing pain and weakness.
When I first saw her, she couldn’t turn her head or use her arm at all. Luckily, we take care of herniated discs here and we started her on program of spinal decompression, cold laser and chiropractic adjustments. About a month later she had less neck pain, more motion and her arm was getting stronger.
I sent the patient’s insurance company a report outlining her progress and my plan to continue helping her. Two days later I heard back from them and was surprised to learn that my “request” for care was denied!
I was confused and called the insurance company. This woman was making terrific progress but clearly was still hurting and needed more work. They connected me to the doctor who had made the decision about her case. (Of course, he had never met her and the only information he had was my report outlining the need for care).
I reminded him of the case and told him why I was calling. I pointed out that my patient was still demonstrating symptoms and had significant findings on her examination. He told me that the testing I had done (the same testing which every MD or DC uses) did not, in his opinion, demonstrate a problem and that the improvement in my patient’s progress and her current symptoms were irrelevant.
The good news is that I ignored this “Health Care Hit Man” from the insurance company. The patient did very well and after about four more weeks of care she successfully recovered from her injuries.
The reason I am so upset is that the writing is on the wall. The insurance companies are all doing the same thing. They are hiring some “professional” who has never met you and giving them the power to make decisions about your health and the type of care you will require.
I am telling you now because forewarned is forearmed. You need to know your insurance company is not going to be looking out for you. They are cutting coverage for care and at the same time raising premium costs every year.
Fortunately, at The Back Care Center we and don’t let the insurance companies push us around. We make it a point to keep care affordable and to treat our patients, not their insurance company.
If that’s the kind of care you’re looking for, then give us a call.
