Guest guest Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Hi all, Alot of people have mentioned using the sliding scale. Can anyone give more details on this, the actual prices and criteria? Warm regards, Attilio D'Alberto Doctor of (Beijing, China) B.Sc. (Hons) T.C.M., M.A.T.C.M. Company Director The Earth Health Clinic 0208 367 8378 enquiries <http://www.theearthhealthclinic.com/> www.theearthhealthclinic.com Chinese Medicine Chinese Medicine On Behalf Of Anne Crowley 24 October 2005 13:20 Chinese Medicine Re: Digest Number 1157 Wow Joe, What area do you live in? I assume you did this by the region you live in. I am ever perplexed by this rate issue. I live outside the Washington, D.C. area - a true bedroom community. Most people in this area do not feel the effects of unemployment or job loss. (Everyone is feeling the gas crunch.) Yet there are still people who don't earn a lot or depend heavily on medical insurance to take care of anything to do with their health. There is also a middle class group who spends a lot of money on boats, crabs, cars and just can't imagine spending it on preventive health care. This is a huge shift in thinking and it also takes some convincing for the spouse. I believe if you have a practice and can set up a clinic where you see 4 to 6 people in an hour, you could do the sliding scale thing, see a good number of people, not wear yourself out, and earn a good living (which I think we all deserve.) If you are on the high end of this, may half to hire an assitant to at least take needles out. I think this would offer service to just about everyone. You folks that have been to China can chime in on this. I for one, at the moment see 1 patient per hour. These sliding scale things just don't work work for me. I have done it but don't offer it readily. And I am talking about a breakeven kind of income if I did it. Acupuncturists also have to put cornflakes on the table. My future plans are to see two people an hour, which would allow me more flexibilty. But I honestly think to make a good living, you have to see multiple patients in an hour time period; and the clinic situation is best for the $0 - $65 group. Yes, people will pay more than they qualify for, because they appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Attilio D'Alberto wrote: Hi Dr. Attilio! We have a (government) Health Department clinic in town which gives people cards that give a percentage of the bill they have to pay. I simply honor the cards. A senior center and a hospital also do this, but I am yet to see any of these cards. <http://tinyurl.com/ca69s> This could theoretically be zero. If it were (but it has never been) I would treat the person very carefully in the hope that he/she got well very soon! Usually it is about 50%. I have one patient who always pays me more than I bill her for, bless her heart. Regards, Pete > Hi all, > > Alot of people have mentioned using the sliding scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 I have an office in a clinic here in Nederland, CO, which is considered to be basically " low income. " They do see a number of insured patients, but most of their business comes from Medicare, Medicaid, and what is called the Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP). I offer a sliding scale based on the income guidelines set forth under CICP, which assigns patients a rating that is either N, A, B, C, D, E, F & G Basically how it breaks down with my fees: N ratings (under about $4K a year for a single person (the #s are adjusted for families--it would be $9K for a family of 5) are $25, A,B,and C ratings are $30 (up to $9.5K for a single person), D & E ratings are $35 (up to $12.7K for a single person), and F & G ratings are $40 (up to $17.7K for a single person). I do Medicaid for $30 and Medicare for $35. My self pay rate is only $50 and I also accept insurance, when applicable. This may not be helpful for anyone that doesn't have such clear guidelines, but your state may have a similar program which makes running the sliding scale easier. It also helps that it is the front desk people where I work that validate all of this and get them signed up on programs. I do struggle, but my overhead is low, so it's working, and I feel good bringing acupuncture " to the masses " so to speak. Also, re: practice building...I saw my client base increase quite a bit when I started writing a column once a month for the newspaper up here in tiny Nederland. Hope it helps? -Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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