Acupuncture & TCM Articles
Acupuncture Articles
by John A. Amaro L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM), DC
 Dr. Amaro is an internationally known author, lecturer and practitioner beginning his practice of Acupuncture and Chiropractic in 1971. He has led 13 diplomatic Acupuncture study tours of The People's Republic of China escorting more than 500 doctors and practitioners. He has personally studied Acupuncture in nine separate Asian nations.
He has received Certification in Acupuncture through the Columbia Institute of Chiropractic in 1973. This was one of the first Acupuncture postgraduate education programs for physicians in North America commencing in 1972.
He has been certified by the Waseda Acupuncture College in Tokyo, Japan in 1974 and graduated from the Chinese Medical Institute, Kowloon, China in 1976. He had previously taken postgraduate studies at the Tai Chung Medical School Taipei, China 1973.
".52 Cents on the Dollar"
John A. Amaro L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM), DC
On a recent trip to a large Southeastern city where I was conducting an acupuncture orthopedics symposium, my wife and I were able to make time to visit her best friend from childhood and her husband. What I would experience that evening would rank as one of the more disturbing revelations of my career.
The husband is a very popular, well-known, dedicated, physician specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics. He is the principle and Chief Executive Officer of the largest physician group in this vibrant, upscale city. Before, during and following our dinner, we were approached by no less than eight different people just wanting to say hello to this "pillar of the community" who apparently is known far and wide. After all, his medical group being the largest, sees most of the potential patients in that part of the city. His clinic has most specialties attached to it and is located in a beautiful building in a spectacular setting.
By anyone's assumed evaluation of this doctor, you would without question think he had reached the so-called pinnacle of success. Besides being a very caring, loving, dedicated doctor he is a businessman of intimidating proportions. It would be very obvious to anyone, this doctor has the practice, financial income and ability to manage both to literally have and do anything he wants.
Was I shocked when during the course of the evening as the topic moved to golf, to discover this doctor had dropped his membership at the Country Club because he finds himself working so much, he literally does not have time to play golf. However, what really brought me to my knees is when he stated "and besides, I can't afford the membership". He admitted to having no time to play golf because if he didn't put the hours in he does, the clinic would not meet it's financial requirements. All of his business partners scheduled their patients as he does and all were putting in 60-80 hours per week. This is only in attempt to meet the overhead expenses of the clinic.
I am sure my shock and disbelief were as evident on my facial expressions as it was in my voice as I shouted, "what do you mean you can't afford the membership? You operate the largest clinic in the entire city. That's impossible"! I mean, this really bothered me!
The doctor went on to explain that with insurance reimbursement, PPO's, and HMO's, collecting the fee for medical service was a major challenge. He went on to say, "in fact, I've studied it from every angle and regardless we earn .52cents on the dollar"!
He went on to say the major problem is that the laboratory, bills their clinic for 100% of their service but they only receive 52 % on the average. If laboratory tests are $100. this doctor only receives from insurance reimbursement $52. This same scenario is repeated in every phase of business. The mortgage on the building is billed at 100%. The payroll for office personnel is paid at 100%. Malpractice, and all other insurances are billed to the doctor at 100%. However, the doctor only receives .52cents on every dollar billed to insurance companies. Obviously, we can carry this to a multitude of examples, such as the grocery store, the movie theatre, the clothing store, the accountant, the barber, etc. etc, etc. Everyone who charges us, bills us 100% of the service. We are expected to pay 100% of the bill. It doesn't take a mental giant to realize if everyone in our lives who charges us a fee is at 100% and we only collect 52% for every dollar billed, this is the recipe for sure failure. Remember, taxes are also billed at 100%.
How in the world did the healing arts, ever become involved with this type of insurance billing in the first place? To me it is one of life's major phenomena's. However, since this event happened to me it has turmoiled me to no end until I made the discovery that so many practices would love to collect as much as .52cents on the dollar. Many practices of all disciplines are literally collecting .40 - .47cents of what is billed. Thank goodness there are some who do much better than that, but unfortunately they are few and far between.
The bottom line is why do we feel as a profession (healing arts) that a patient will not seek our service unless an insurance company pays for it? What insurance company pays your grocery bill, haircut, tax accountant, trash pick up, utility bills and the scores of other services that we pay for regularly?
As the doctor and I discussed the problem, I couldn't help but to recommend: "What If---you literally cut your practice volume in half, began working a customary 40 hours a week instead of 80. What if you were to simply charge a legitimate office call fee to one half the number of people you currently see and were to collect 100% of what you serviced, would not your practice financial figures literally double as the practice became more manageable begin having fun in practice and as a result, also have time for family and to relax with that golf game.
Having conducted a total "pay for service at time of delivery' practice for the last 16 of my 32 years in practice, I find it so interesting that last year for example my clinic actually collected $27.00 more than it rendered. This was due to the fact someone had carried over a balance from the year before. I believe the worst collections we had in the clinic was the year we did not collect a little over $200.
Those doctors in medicine/chiropractic and licensed acupuncturists reading this please be aware the outpatient services we provide are not an outrageous expense. There are a variety of procedures requiring hospitalizations, tests and treatments which insurance definitely eases the financial burden, however for the average practitioner who is seeing patients on an outpatient basis, pay for service is most certainly a very viable option.
Take a good hard look at your own personal practice. What is your financial bottom line? What percentage of the service are we actually collecting. Put a sharp pencil to the figures. Remember there are literally hundreds to thousands of doctors who have decided to go into businesses other than their chosen healing field only because they could not afford the cost of operating a clinic. I am personally approached far too often by former physicians who have left their practices and are now working in of all things, financial consulting. I find it so difficult to place my trust in someone seeking to offer me financial guidance who could not manage their own affairs.
We have way too much to offer humanity to allow an insurance mentality to destroy our mission, talent and destiny. Be able to justify your fees to yourself, attain quick healing response in the shortest time possible. Recommend management follow up care a maximum of four times a year or as needed if the patient requires more than four times a year as opposed to the all too infamous once a month. You will find for patient retention, this idea alone is priceless. Remember, it is much better to see a patient as the dental profession does twice a year for maintenance than to try and prescribe more treatment than the patient can justify. Patients will always return to us if they feel they have received good value for their dollar and have not been taken advantage of. Throughout life, there are numerous instances where "less is more".
Realize that what you are charging for an office visit pales in comparison to the costs of surgical procedures, hospitalization and extensive medical screening. The patient is more than willing to pay a legitimate office fee as long as the treatment success can be accomplished in a relatively short period of time. Acupuncture and chiropractic procedures are famous for their quick clinical response. The worst thing one can ever do in practice is too overly utilize. "Less is more"!
We in the so-called "Alternative and Complementary" healing arts, are without question sitting in one of the best positions any profession can possibly be from a financial perspective. As long as we do not become a slave to the insurance industry and our fees are legitimate, justified and collected, our future is secure.
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