Deductible, Co-Pay & Co-Insurance Office Policies for Hjort Chiropractic
Traditionally, the office has not collected deductibles or coinsurances at time of service. However, we have run into issues with misunderstandings with patients. These misunderstandings range from the patient not understanding how the chiropractic coverage is implemented by their insurance or us as an office not fully explaining how the patient’s insurance plan covers treatment. Some patients even have combinations of deductibles or co-insurance and even co-pays that vary on the type of provider that they see (i.e. medical, chiropractic, mental health, PT, etc.). This can be very confusing for both patients and the office staff as these vary from insurance plan to insurance plan.
Self-pay vs. Insurance
With everyone one of our contracted insurance plans, our contracted insurance fees are always less than our cash fees. Your insurance has already negotiated with us to provide you with low cost treatment. Insurance is expensive and even if you have a high deductible, you still get the insurance contracted rate which is always less. We encourage every patient to use their insurance! If our office is not a contracted provider with your insurance plan, we will try to catch that up front either before or after your first visit. If we are not a provider for your insurance plan, you will be a self-pay patient. In some instances, we can send your visit to insurance to verify for the patient that their care is not covered here, however, our self-pay rules apply with treatment fees being paid at the time of service.
Health Share Plans
Health share plans are becoming more common. However, we are not a provider for these plans as they are not truly health insurance. We will offer the service of sending claims in for the patient but the patient is still responsible for all treatment costs. All Health Share patients are treated as Self-Pay and our self-pay rules apply. Some health share plans pay the patient and some pay the office. If the office receives payment, we will gladly reimburse you for those payments.
Deductibles
Our office policy is to collect $25 each visit towards a patient’s deductible. We offer a convenient secure credit card vault in our office management software that allows us to store your credit or debit card information. We also offer ACH transactions to debit directly from you checking or savings accounts. Once a credit card or bank information is stored, the staff will ask your permission each visit to use the stored card on file. If you do not want us to use your stored card or bank information on that visit, we kindly ask you to have an alternative form of payment. After we receive an EOB (Explanation of Benefits) from your insurance, we can let you know if your deductible has been met. You can also look at the EOB that you receive from your insurance company after they process your visit here. It typically takes insurance companies anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to process your visit. Your co-insurance can vary from visit to visit depending on the doctor who treated you and what procedures were billed. We encourage all patients to save the EOB’s from their insurance and to bring a copy of it to the office if you have any questions. We can go over the EOB with you and explain the charges that you are and are not responsible for personally. EOB’s can be confusing even for us so don’t be hesitant to ask questions.
Co-Insurance
Our office policy is to collect $15 towards co-insurances each visit. Co-insurances can vary from 10% to up to 50% depending on your plan and what each doctor charges each visit. Each patient’s insurance plan is different so we won’t have an exact number on how much your co-insurance will be until your insurance processes your claim. In order to simplify your co-insurance collection, we will keep it at $15 each visit. If you have a credit on your account that is greater than $15, we can certainly not collect that visit. Once again, it typically takes insurance companies anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to process your visit. After we receive and EOB (Explanation of Benefits), we will have a better idea of what your co-insurance for office visits. Your co-insurance can vary from visit to visit depending on the doctor who treated you and what procedures were billed. You can also look at the EOB that you receive from your insurance company after they process your visit here. Once again, we encourage all patients to save the EOB’s from their insurance and to bring a copy of it to the office if you have any questions. We can go over the EOB with you and explain the charges that you are and are not responsible for personally.
Co-pays
Your insurance expects us as a contracted provider to collect all co-pays at the time of service and have the right under Minnesota law to withold payment to compensate for the co-pay collection. Co-pays can vary from as little as $3 to as high as $90 per visit. On co-pays up to $40, we will ask you to pay your co-pay at the time of service. On co-pays that are greater than $40, we can send you a bill once your insurance processes your claim. We offer a convenient secure credit card vault in our office management software that allows us to store your credit or debit card information. We also offer ACH transactions to debit directly from your checking or savings accounts. Once a credit card or bank information is stored, the staff will ask you permission each visit to use the stored card on file. If you do not want us to use your stored card or bank information on that visit, we kindly ask you to have an alternative form of payment. After we receive and EOB (Explanation of Benefit), we can let you know if your total services are greater than or less than what you have already paid. You can also look at the EOB that you receive from your insurance company after they process your visit here. It typically takes insurance companies anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to process your visit. We encourage all patients to save the EOB’s from their insurance and to bring a copy of it to the office if you have any questions. We can go over the EOB with you and explain the charges that you are and are not responsible for personally. EOB’s can be confusing even for us so don’t be hesitant to ask questions.
After Insurance Processing
Almost all patients will have a bill left over even after paying what our office collects each visit. Our office will send you a statement from our local billing office with the patient portion that is still left after either deductibles, co-pays or co-insurances. If you have any questions, please bring a copy of your statement and insurance EOB’s to the office so we can address your concerns. Our billing office is also available for questions. Her name is Judy and her phone number will be on all billing statements. Once again, please save your billing statements from us and EOB’s from your insurance company so we can answer your questions properly.
Top Tier/Preferred Provider
Hjort Chiropractic has a long track record of high quality care that includes high patient satisfaction, better results, and lower costs. Many insurance companies rate chiropractors based on these attributes and award the best performing clinics by putting them in a higher tier or making them a preferred provider. Due to our status as a "top tier" or "preferred" provider, your chiropractic benefit at our office is the highest available. Our intent is to make the insurance process as hassle-free as possible for our patients. Just bring your insurance card or information—we'll bill your insurance company directly for your treatment. The most common types of insurance are listed below. If you have questions, please call our office.
CAR ACCIDENT INSURANCE
If you've been involved in a motor vehicle accident, this type of insurance takes precedence over your personal health insurance. It doesn't matter whether you were at fault or whether you were the driver or a passenger. At Hjort Chiropractic, treatment of injuries related to vehicle operation or accidents are generally covered 100% by your auto insurance. And you have direct access to our clinic with no need for a medical referral. The doctors at Hjort Chiropractic have a special interest in automobile accident injuries. Dr. Hjort has been certified as an auto crash injury forensic specialist. He has undergone extensive post-graduate training at the Spine Research Institute of San Diego which included participation in live automobile crash testing.
WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE
Workers Compensation Insurance covers medical and chiropractic expenses for injuries suffered in an occupational setting. Most injured workers have the right to direct access to chiropractic care at Hjort Chiropractic Clinic, with 100% coverage of chiropractic treatment costs. Most of the time you have the choice to see the doctor of your choice. If you have questions regarding coverage we encourage you to have a free consultation with one of the doctors at Hjort Chiropractic. They can tell you if your condition might be helped with chiropractic and if your treatments will be covered by your worker's compensation insurance...with no financial risk to you.
PERSONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
Hjort Chiropractic is a preferred provider for almost all personal insurance plans, including: HealthPartners, Preferred One, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Medica, United Health Care, Blue Plus, Blue Select, Select Care, MN Care, and others. We accept other personal insurance as well. Most personal health insurance plans allow direct access to chiropractic care without a medical referral.
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
If you are a veteran and have coverage through the VA medical system you are most likely eligible for chiropractic coverage. You will need a referral from your medical doctor at the VA to get coverage started.
MEDICARE
Hjort Chiropractic accepts assignment for Medicare patients. We do all the billing and will also bill your supplemental insurance provider if you have one. Most Medicare patients at least 24 chiropractic visits available per year if needed.
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE/MEDICAID
Hjort Chiropractic accepts all Minnesota medical assistance plans and Minnesota Care plans.