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This article applies to Dr. Weyrich; other practitioners at 4Health and Wellness, who have different credentials, may be able to accept insurance.

Often patients come to Dr. Weyrich because they are seeking an alternative to the standard of care provided by insurance companies or government programs.

Because precision functional diagnostic medicine and naturopathic treatment modalities differ from the model of medical care used by most third-party payers (insurance), coverage of Dr. Weyrich's services by insurance is not guaranteed.

In particular, government-controlled health insurance, such as Medicare, Medicaid, AHCCCS, Tricare, VA, and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), and Accountable Care Organization (ACO) plans do not cover any services provided by Naturopathic Medical Doctors (NMDs). If you like the standard of care that you get from the government-approved programs listed above - keep them! If you want complementary or alternative care, then see Dr. Weyrich!

Some private insurance carriers may cover medical services performed, laboratory tests ordered, and drugs prescribed by Dr. Weyrich (in whole or in part). Generally speaking, patients with Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans can submit Dr. Weyrich's bills for reimbursement as an out of network provider, but the coverage available varies with the particular insurance plan the patient has, and whether the treatment is consistent with modalities approved by the insurance company and conventional [allopathic] medicine.

Often, various patient-controlled plans, such as:

• Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA),
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA),
• Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA),
• or Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans (MERP)

here.

Beware that various provisions designed to fund Obamacare may restrict the uses of Healthcare Savings accounts etc. In particular, coverage of herbs, nutritional supplements, or alternative medical practitioners (including Naturopathic Medical Doctors) may be limited or prohibited. Since the parameters of each of these plans may vary, please contact your plan provider for information regarding coverage of fees from Naturopathic Medical Doctors (NMDs), who are licensed in Arizona as physicians, and for coverage of lab tests ordered and prescriptions written by NMDs licensed in Arizona.

Alternatives to Insurance

Patients may be able to gain greater control over the way their healthcare dollars are spent by clarifying the meaning of the word "insurance."

Insurance provides security by pooling risk to protect against expensive catastrophic events, such as major illnesses requiring hospitalization. You need insurance to cover these rare but expensive costs.

While insurance can be a lifesaver in dire situations, its arcane and bureaucratic coverage rules (that are often negotiated between politicians, lobbyists, and the healthcare industry for political purposes) create a significant loss of flexibility when seeking treatments outside the medical model used by the insurance company.

The alternative to relying on insurance to cover all healthcare needs is to select a lower-cost, higher-deductible insurance policy that only covers catastrophic healthcare needs (heart attacks, cancer, etc), and then to use the cost-savings to fund some sort of personal healthcare savings account (HSA, HRA, FSA, MERP, etc discussed above) to pay directly for non-catastrophic healthcare needs, especially treatments outside the medical model used by the insurance company. This action-plan depends on your discernment that true insurance only covers the "big stuff" - most people do not want their car insurance company to be responsible for changing your oil, for example. You want to choose your own mechanic for that, rather than getting your oil change from the insurance-company-approved mechanic, using the insurance-company-approved brand of oil (which is likely to be the cheapest generic oil available)!

Consult with your company benefits advisor and your insurance agent to choose the approach that gives you the best blend of security and flexibility for your individual situation.