Are Fibro Clinics Worthwhile or Scammers?

[magnum]

Tomorrow, I'm going to a clinic that specializes in working with fibro patients. Staff includes a medical doctor, functional medicine doctor, nutritionist, physical therapists, and massage therapists. Been open since 2006. Has anyone gone to one of these clinics and if so, what was your experience?q

 

[TipBill]

I personally have never heard of such a thing. I know there isn't one in Springfield which is the closest big city to where I live or I would have been recommended to it. Let us know how it went. Good luck!

 

[magnum]

Hi Krista, I'm going in today for a consult. Insurance has pre-authorized coverage for it. If the doctor writes a script for physical therapy treatments, insurance will cover 20 visit per calendar year. So far, I am thinking that the place is legit since insurance is agreeing to provide coverage. I will keep you posted on the services and their effectiveness.

 

[magnum]

I've done some research on this clinic and decided not to go. There are some negative reviews online. It doesn't mean it's a bad clinic because there are very few reviews and some times it's the angry people that leave reviews rather that satisfied clients. I just don't have the money and time to throw at an uncertainty.

I have to say that while researching online, I do notice that there are pain management doctors that focus on prescribing narcotics to mask the problem rather that trying to figure out the root of all of these symptoms.

I did find a M.D./D.O. that practices alternative medicine in south Denver. He has high recommendations with satisfied customers. He apparently spends an hour with them and really tries to figure out what's wrong. The problem-- he does not accept insurance. Insurance quite often declines alternative medicine doctors or they try to dictate what the doctors can do or cannot do. As a result, these doctors don't deal with insurance. In this case, it's $300 for 1 hour initial consultation and $200 for subsequent visit. Can't afford that, for sure! It's sad that insurance companies won't work with doctors that can produce real results just because they may make 'outside of the box' decisions and treatments.

 

[coracora]

Hi Magnum, it might be worth looking into this:
"doctor won't accept insurance" is not the same as "insurance won't accept doctor".
For a provider to "accept" insurance, they have to fill out a bunch of paperwork, jump through hoops, and spend a lot of extra time negotiating/coordinating with each insurance company they might bill. This has the advantage of making it easier for patients to figure out how their health care will be paid, but has the disadvantage of requiring resources that a small private provider might just not have available. Especially if they want to spend most of their time actually meeting with their patients.

Lots of times the insurance company will accept the doctor, however. (Not always, so check with your insurer.) This means that you go to the provider, get your services, and pay the provider directly. Then you take your receipts to your insurance company and get reimbursed for the amount that they are willing to cover. (Typically this is a totally legit use of an HSA, by the way.)

Sometimes the provider is willing to let you send their bill on to your insurance company and let you pay the difference, but, again, that requires extra resources that a lot of small providers just don't have.

It could be worth checking with your insurance company to see if they cover this particular provider, and how much.

I know the system of needing to pay a large chunk of money upfront, then wait to maybe get reimbursed for some of it is far from ideal, but if your insurance covers this provider and you can afford to have some money held in limbo for a while, this could mean you are able to see the provider of your choice.

I understand your frustration with the insurance options! Myself, I'm stuck on the super high deductible plan, where I have to nearly bankrupt myself paying towards the deductible before the insurance kicks in and pays anything. Each year. Basically it's only useful if I get hit by a truck. It sucks, but it's all I can afford right now. I hope this osteopath works out for you!

 

[gaiden]

Hi Magnum,
I agree with coracora. I went to an Osteopathic MD who specialized in Enviromental Medicine (who also had a degree in Pharmacology) and she also did not accept any insurance. She had great reviews so I gave her a go. Her office staff would file most of my claims. I had to file my own for anything she ordered outside her office like Lab tests, etc. The turn around to get the monies reimbursed was about 3-4 weeks. I really felt like she was getting to the root of my FM and she was very pro active. I ended up moving back to the PNW and have not found a MD that compared to her. I would give it a go if you can. Love to have something like that in my area!

 

[brett88]

Tomorrow, I'm going to a clinic that specializes in working with fibro patients. Staff includes a medical doctor, functional medicine doctor, nutritionist, physical therapists, and massage therapists. Been open since 2006. Has anyone gone to one of these clinics and if so, what was your experience?q

I went to fibromyalgia and fatigue center. At first, it was good. They did tons of blood tests. They put me on supplements. They gave me IV's of vitamins. The IV's though were just a temporary high. When the first few things didn't work, the doctor kept wanting me to order more and more supplements. It cost like $6,000 a year to go there or something like that. I thought if it really worked, we'd see more success stories. To me, it felt more like a scam but some people may disagree.

 

[OceanGirl]

Mayo has a three week "boot camp" to teach about fibro and non pharmacological ways to help with the pain.