Q. Are Dr. Rothman’s services covered by my insurance?
A. Explanation of Services and Charges at MD Wellness. Conventional medicine is based on a histopathological approach to diagnosis and treatment. In other words, mainstream medical services identify patterns of disease, name the patterns (make a diagnosis, like high blood pressure or migraine headache), then treat the symptoms of the disease, using drugs or surgery.
Some integrative medical practitioners may incorporate natural products (like herbs, vitamins, amino acids, homeopathic…) in addition to drugs to treat symptoms. Regardless, of the type of method employed to treat disease, this type of treatment is considered the practice of medicine, and only medical doctors (or their supervised subordinates) can legally do this.
At MD Wellness, we take a different approach. The patient is evaluated for metabolic imbalances (like autonomic imbalance or anabolic-catabolic imbalance), and the imbalances are then addressed using an objective, analytical approach. Since diseases and symptoms are not being treated, this type of practice can not truly be described as a medical treatment.
Insurance companies rely on histopathologic diagnosis in their decision to reimburse patients and pay doctors for their services. Therefore, attempting to give a diagnostic code to a treatment aimed at restoring metabolic balance could be interpreted as insurance fraud. Therefore, we can not accept medical insurance at MD Wellness. Nor can we submit your claim to your insurance policy.
That being said, lack of insurance coverage should not deter you from seeking treatment for your problems. Most patients are under the impression that they will be unable to afford treatment if it is not covered. Nothing can be further from the truth. Whereas conventional medical treatments (and many “alternative treatments”) can cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, the treatment at MD Wellness is much less. Patients can expect to spend anywhere from $700-$2600 for their treatment (this includes the cost of all supplements and tests).
In fact, one of the primary reasons that we can offer such a low price for our services is because by not accepting insurance, we can keep our costs low and pass the savings on to you. A typical patient can expect the following costs. Initial visit 90 minutes at $350. Subsequent visits 30-60 minutes at $250/hr = $125-$250. (There may be as few as one to as many as several of these visits depending on the course of treatment)
Total cost of visits = $600-$2100. Plus cost of supplements $100-$500. Total cost of treatment is $700-$2600.
The service fee may be reimbursable under flexible spending accounts and as a tax deduction
Q. What is Metabolically Directed Functional Testing and how do I prepare?
