Will A Baltimore Chiropractor Accept My Insurance?
As a Baltimore chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating injured patients that have been involved in Baltimore car accidents, I often get asked if my office will accept private health insurances. That is, prospective patients want to know if this office is in credentialed as an in-network provider for the major health insurance companies in order to provide chiropractic services. The answer is yes.
Currently the list of health insurance carriers that we are considered in network with include: Blue Cross and Blue Shield (CareFirst), Cigna, Johns Hopkins EHP, and United Healthcare. That list is not entirely inclusive. There are literally hunderds of other subplans that we may be able to accept as an in-network provider that fall under these umbrella companies. We will not be able to list all of those smaller companies on the website. If someone were interested in determining whether or not they had chiropractic coverage the best way to handle that would be to email or call the office, and let us know your name, date of birth, insurance company, plan number, and member ID. Armed with that information my staff is trained to “pre-certify” chiropractic care for Baltimore area residents. By the time you arrive for your first visit you will know if we accept your insurance, how much your copay is (money due at time of service), how much of your deductible you have met for this calendar year, and how many visits your insurance company may limit you to.
One thing that I want to express is that in this office we are just healthcare providers. We do not write the language of the health insurance contract. That means that I can not control how much your copay costs you, how many visits your insurance will pay for, or whether or not you have already met your deductible for a given calendar year. Sometimes patients get upset with us to learn that they have a $40 copay and that since they have not yet met their deductible they will owe us another $25 per visit for all of the services that we render. They feel somehow “ripped off” or “misguided” because they pay for insurance and our office accepts it, but the costs are more expensive than if they simply paid our cash fee schedule. This is why all new patients are informed of their financial obligations as of their first office visit. While I certainly understand wanting to use health insurance if you pay for it and we accept it, sometimes it is less expensive to pay our cash rate than it is to involve insurance companies. As a provider of healthcare all we can do is inform prospective patients of their options and they can make whatever financial decision they want to, whether that means that we process it through their insurance, or whether they pay cash and are allowed a small time-of-service discount.
At Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic we are proud to be in network with leading providers in the Baltimore area and we gladly will accept assignment for insurance payments. We will also be happy to discuss with you what your financial obligations are up front so that there are no surprises. The only thing that we can not do is control how much of a copay, deductible, or out of pocket expenses you will incur for treating in this office. Just like with medical benefits when you travel to a primary care doctors office, urgent care, or hospital emergency department, all of those benefits are CONTRACTUALLY agreed upon prior to your arrival.
If you, or someone you know, has health insurance and is curious as to whether or not this office is in network, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to verify your benefits and help you if we can.
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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