Frequently Asked Questions

Why insurance is not accepted?

If your doctor is spending enough time with you (both in-person and afterward researching your unique case) to get to the root of your issue, using advanced testing that takes more time and knowledge to interpret, and then personalizing your treatment plan to include natural therapies, it’s not covered by insurance.
Many treatments in functional medicine are considered “alternative” because they don’t involve medication for symptoms, but rather supplement an individual’s unique needs. Functional medicine doctors understand that what works for you might not work for other people, because you have a unique genome, microbiome, and lifestyle – factors that aren’t considered in mainstream medicine recommendations.

Advanced care. Being “insurance-free” allows doctors to recommend the most advanced therapies and testing.

Personalized care. In functional medicine, we base treatments on the best possibilities for an individual with a unique genome, microbiome, and lifestyle, instead of basing our treatments simply on what the insurance company tells us they’ll pay for.
 
Time.  Insurance reimburses doctors for visits that typically last about 15 minutes. We often spend over an hour with our new patients, getting a comprehensive assessment. We need to know what is going on in your life before we can improve it.
 

Flexibility.  There are no restrictions on where or how your care can be given – in office, home, phone, or video. We can meet patients where they are.
 

1:1 personal relationship. There’s no one in between your doctor and you. It’s a true partnership. Your doctor is only working for you. She’s not caught in a triangle between you, insurance, and administration.
 

Transparency.  There are no guessing game of what’s covered, surprise lab bills in the hundreds of dollars for necessary tests that you felt should be covered. We spell out lab costs, decide together which tests are important, and let you know the worst-case pricing if the insurance doesn’t cover. We also offer much lower, direct pay pricing on many common labs.
 

First, we consider functional medicine an investment over an expense. Working to transform your lifestyle and health will continue to reward you in the future.
 
We see people from all walks of life, including hard-working people on a fixed budget. They are willing to invest in their health and to them, it’s more of a priority decision than a cost decision. They’d rather not wait and keep doing the same things, taking the same medications, but expecting a different result. The upfront investment they make both financially and effort-wise often completely changes the course of their health over their lifetime.
 

We still absolutely encourage our patients to have insurance, especially for acute medical needs. And although we don’t work with insurance directly, there are still ways to reduce the cost of functional medicine:

 

  • Insurance can be used to lower the cost of many functional labs.

 

  • HSA/FSA dollars are often able to be used for our medical consults (check with your carrier). This can give you more control over your health care dollars. Now, as many insurance plans have higher deductibles, many employers offer HSAs as part of the health plan.

 

  • The savings we are able to pass on to patients on direct lower-cost conventional labs can offset the total cost of functional care.