Our office is open by appointment only. New patients are welcomed to contact our office with questions or to book appointments. Commonly asked questions can be found under our FAQ’s. Payment is expected at the time of treatment.


New patients can download our office policies. Please take the time to fill out these forms and bring them with you to your initial visit. If there are any questions please contact us. We look forward to being part of your health care team.

 

Notice to All New Patients - Cancellation Policy:


In fairness to both new and returning patients our office maintains a 24 hour cancellation policy. New patients may be required to provide a credit card number (including 3 digit CVV code) when scheduling new patient visits. When booking new appointment visits, new patients agree to pay the entire fee for visit if they fail to provide 24 hour prior notice of cancellation.

Below are some forms that you might find useful to read and fill out before you come in to the office.

All forms are in PDF format. If you do not have a PDF reader, you can download one for free from the Adobe Website.

Informed Consent and Privacy Policy

HIPAA Consent

Assignment of Benefits

Patient Acknowledgement of HIPAA

Failure to Keep Appointment

Health History Questionnaire

Physician Referral Advisory

Female Questionnary Form

Male Fertility Questionnaire

Financial Agreement

Symptoms Index

BBT Chart

 

Insurance FAQ’s.


Absolute Balance Acupuncture works with several insurance companies as an out of network provider. (Deductibles, co-insurance may apply).

In order to receive full benefits from your health insurance provider, we suggest for you to call your insurance carrier – the contact number is usually found on the back of your insurance card – and ask what is covered on your policy. You will need to ask the following questions:


1. Does my policy covers acupuncture treatments?

2. How many treatments are covered per year?

Possible answers:

a) unlimited. This is going to mean that you can get three treatments per week for as long as necessary. By the time you start thinking about acupuncture, you have probably been through a great many different treatments. The reason this matters is that for every year you have had a problem, expect one month to fix it.

b) 35 per year. This too is going to get the job done in many cases. Generally acute conditions (meaning that they are really intense, but do not last that long or came on quickly) are going to respond better than the low-grade long-term chronic issues. Still, even for the chronic issues, 35 treatments inside of a year should be a pretty good start.

c) 12 to 18 per quarter. Still okay, see above.

d) 12 per year. Now, we are pretty much limited to a few key issues that just so happen to respond quickly to acupuncture. These would be stress or hormonally induced issues among sensitive individuals such as PMS where you only need one treatment per month, or else some other musculo-skeletal problem where it is simply a sprain or strain, perhaps a pinched nerve. All these things can respond rather quickly, so 12 treatments may do what is necessary.

e) 2 per year.


3. Does this number also include any other therapies?

a) No, coverage is only for acupuncture.

b) The use of chiropractic, physical therapy, or other
therapy is also covered by your insurance. Sometimes that acupuncture
benefit for 35 sessions per year is shared by all these other complementary
modalities. You will want to find that out too, especially if you are getting
physical therapy, for instance.

4. Who must provide the acupuncture?

a) Anyone who is licensed to perform acupuncture in your state.
b) Only employees in an HMO facility can provide your acupuncture. This is often an MD with or without extensive training who works in the HMO facility.
c) Only an MD or a physical therapist may bill for your acupuncture benefits.

5. Does my policy cover 100% or some portion of the treatment?

Sometimes, a policy will only cover 70-80% of the cost of the treatment, regardless of the cost and in most situations the patient is responsible for the remaining 30-20% (so-called co-insurance fees).


6. Is there a deductible and if there is – how much of it has been met?

A deductible is the portion not covered by the insurance coverage. So if you have $250 deductible, you will need to submit $250 in medical costs before your insurance company will pay for the treatment. Note that this is medical costs, not just acupuncture!

7.Which pathologies are covered? Does my policy cover the condition for which I am seeking treatment?

a) There is no restriction.
b) Pain syndromes only. If I'm treating you for diarrhea, for example, and you are having stomach pain, insurance will pay for treatment of pain and both problems will be treated during the single acupuncture session.
c) Musculo-skeletal pain not including headaches or menstrual cramps or pain that can be treated by other methods.

Most policies do not cover weight management and smoking cessation, however, many people seeking these treatments also require treatment for conditions covered by acupuncture.


When you have the answers to these questions, ask the operator just a few more:

  • ask their name;
  • a reference number for the call;
  • their badge number;
  • time and date of the call

    Now you have written documentation that you are covered (or not).
    Once you have these questions answered, you’ll be in a much better position to understand what your insurance coverage can do for you.