As a doctor most of my attention stays on any new developments in the healthcare fields that I might be able to use in my practice to benefit my patients.  But sometimes the biggest benefit is just being able to make healthcare benefits available to my patients.  I do my part personally by keeping my lifestyle simple and my office fees as low as possible and yet still be able to pay my bills.  I strive to get as much done in each visit as possible to reduce the number of visits necessary to get the job done.  Most patients see me for a given complaint only once or twice to achieve resolution.

But a few injury situations do require a lot of care.  The worst of these is the type of rapid acceleration - deceleration injuries that occur in auto accidents.  They are not about the typical "something out of place" with the muscle spasm that accompanies it.  Auto injuries involve tearing of the muscles, tendons, and stabilizing ligaments.  Correcting these situations is not about just putting things back into place, but rather trying to keep everything aligned while the damaged tissue heals. 

If a bone breaks, we immobilize the area with a cast while the bone heals.  We do the same thing with torn tendons or ligaments in feet, knees, or hands.  We don't do that for the spine - it is way too complex.  A torn tendon in a heel, for example, is very simple - one muscle that contracts in only one direction that you use an orthopedic boot to restrict that contraction while the tendon heals.

The spine, on the other hand, has seven layers of muscle which contracts in every direction possible covering 25 double joints and disc combinations all designed to move in every plane of motion.  It is simply too complex to immobilize the spine after an injury to allow the thousands of muscle and joint combinations to heal without movement.  Instead we have to try to keep everything aligned while the body goes through its repair process, which can take months.  Ligaments and tendons have a very poor blood supply which means they heal very slowly.

The net result is that the patient has to often be treated two or three times a week for three to four months while the ligaments heal.  Even then, with the complexities of the spine and how it moves, we are lucky if we get full normal movement to return as scar tissue generally forms to limit the instability in the damaged spine.  While that is a good thing in the short run, it leaves permanent restrictions and chronically inflamed joints due to abnormal motion caused by the scar tissue.  That often means an intermittent need for care for many years.

All of this can become expensive.  We would like to think that our health insurance (if we even have any) will cover these needs, but the truth is it usually does not.  And when it does there are still deductibles to meet (mine is $4000) and co-payments to cover, and the frustrating "standard of care" guidelines that insist that you should only need six to twelve treatments to heal any injury.  In reality, health insurance for Chiropractic care is practically worthless, particularly for auto injuries.  If you have an HMO health plan, Medi-Cal, or a plan where you have to go to one of their doctors, then you have no coverage of any kind.  Workers Compensation has almost eliminated Chiropractic care, and Medicare is very limited.  So how can you protect yourself?

This cloud of current health care shortcomings has a silver lining.  In fact the cheapest health care coverage you can buy is specifically for auto related accidents.  It is called Med Pay coverage and it is an added coverage to your automobile insurance policy.  Insurance brokers won't generally tell you about this available coverage because they make no money from selling it to you.  And the insurance companies will discourage you from using it if you do have it because it costs them money and saves you a ton of money.

Med Pay is a flat dollar amount of coverage for any medical expenses you have for injuries related to an auto accident.  It is not part of the PL (personal liability) and PD (property damage) coverage required by law.  That coverage is for the people you hit when you are the cause of the accident - not for you or your injuries.  Med Pay has no deductibles and no co-payments, and it starts paying the day the accident happens.

This last point is very important to you.  When you are injured in an accident, if the available insurance does not pay for months or years down the road, the costs of your medical care can bankrupt you before any payments come in.  Doctors can't afford to wait months to years for payment for their services.  The expenses of keeping an office open are very high and the bills have to be paid every month.  Doctors expect to be paid for their services in a timely manner - usually at the time of service.

This is where one of the greatest confusions occurs with patients that have been hit by another car.  They are not at fault for the accident so they wrongly assume that the other person's insurance is responsible for their doctor bills.  The other guy's insurance will even say that they will cover your bills.  But what they say is sort of a lie.  What they really mean is that they will reimburse you for what you have to pay for medical care after you first pay all the bills yourself as long as is necessary and have reached an end to your care.  They never pay your doctor bill directly.  They only pay you.  And they only pay you months to years later, after you have reached the end of your care and are willing to sign a paper that says they will never owe you any more money in the future for future medical care.

This is where Med Pay comes in!  Med Pay acts like a short term loan to pay for your medical bills right now when you need it. When you are better, they will get paid back by the other guy's insurance.  If there is no other guy's insurance, because the other guy has no insurance or you are the cause of the accident, then your bills are still covered and you don't have to pay your insurance back.  Med Pay is like a pre-arranged loan you don't have to pay back.

The real beauty of Med Pay is that it is cheap.  It is the least expensive medical insurance you can buy.  You can only buy it as part of your regular auto insurance policy.  Adding a $5000 Med Pay policy can be as cheap as $20 to $30 a year.  Considering how cheap it is and how much any hospital stay can be, it is not a bad idea to up your Med Pay policy to $10000 or even $20000 which might cost you an extra $10 a year.  Even if you have a good health plan, your Med Pay will cover your deductibles and co-pays as well as cover your care when you end up needing more than the 6-12 treatments most policies limit you to.  It is really worth it.

But remember, auto insurance companies don't advertise Med Pay coverage and you have to ask for it specifically to get it.  It is not a required auto insurance coverage in California.  It is an extra policy added to your regular policy.

When we get a patient in the office who has been in an auto accident, the first thing the front office asks about relative to payments is "Do you have Med Pay?"  If you don't have Med Pay, then your only other option is to pay as you go at each visit.  Remember, no matter what the any insurance company tells you, if you don't have your own Med Pay or are covered under the auto medical policy of the driver of the car you were in, the insurance will not pay the doctor.  They might pay you back after you have finished care, but they do not pay your medical bills themselves.  They require you to pay your bills and they pay you back after you are all through with care.

Big picture: If you have an auto insurance policy, get Med Pay.  If you already have Med Pay, then consider raising your coverage amounts.  It is the cheapest medical insurance you can buy.


Take care,


David

We will be on vacation the last week of September 9/21 to 9/29.

Tuesdays and Fridays

Broccoli slows arthritis

Eating lots of broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts may slow down and even prevent osteoporosis.  A compound in these veggies block a key enzyme that destroys cartilage.  A current study is evaluating the benefits of eating a mere 3.5 ounces a day for only 2 weeks to assess the levels of benefit over such a short time span.

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Fighting cancer with diet

Research is building up that is showing that altering your diet can be the most powerful thing you can do to fight cancer.  Cancer cells live on sugar.  We can live on either sugar or fat.  So if we convert our metabolism over to getting all our energy from fat by eating no sugars or carbohydrates that turn into sugar we can starve the cancers.  Not only does it fight the cancers directly, but it greatly increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy.  Protein will also turn into sugar so protein levels need to be reduced to about 50 grams a day as well.  What do you eat?  You eat low carb veggies, fats from coconut, avocado, and olive, high fat nuts, and tiny amounts of protein.

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Tumor 'sniffing' surgical knife designed

 "Examine what is said, not him who speaks."

~ Arabian Proverb  

About Dr. DeLapp

Dr. DeLapp has been a philosopher, non-force Chiropractor, medical intuitive, and health innovator for over 30 years.  He began experimenting with  medical intuition in 1972 while studying physics at UC Davis.  In addition to physics he designed and completed an individual major in the philosophy and psychology of education.  Shortly after he choose to pursue a career in the only truly health oriented profession available at that time, Chiropractic.  He graduated with honors in 1981 with his doctorate and opened a private practice. 
Since that time he has continued his research into the effects of consciousness and learning on health. 
He developed the Biomagnetic Retraining system for correcting movement abnormalities. 
Since 1991 he has focused on developing a powerful system for uncovering and assisting the mind-body connection in health and personal growth.  The in-depth coaching, guided by the subconscious direction from the body, is called Heartflow and the simpler mind-body retraining for health and unfoldment he has named Gracework.  Both are available at Fair Oaks Health.

Dr David DeLapp DC
Chiropractor

Ellen Flowers FGM
Spiritual Life Coach

 

 

 

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Jin Shin Jitsu

 

 

Lorena Morales

 

 

Massage Practitioner

 

 

 

 

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