HAPPY GIVING THANKS.

As I sit here contemplating this particular Thanksgiving week with all the craziness in the world AND in America, I realize there is much for ME to give thanks.

I was born a free man in the United States of America, a nation maligned by many who take so much for granted. For all that America has been blamed, it still has done more to improve the life of hundreds of millions of people around the World. It is STILL the place where the World seeks refuge and opportunity.
I was born a Southerner. As such, I was taught manners, respect for women, strength of character, duty, honor, to protect the weak and to love my country.

I am thankful for the United States military. Military service gave a young man discipline and direction when it was much needed. It also allowed me to earn a college education and the chance to be more than what my past had prepared me.

I have been blessed to have finally realized my calling and purpose of serving God by serving my fellow man as a chiropractor focused on freeing people’s locked potential for expressing life, health, happiness and prosperity. I get to help babies, kids, families and individuals in all walks of life. It’s also a great avenue for sharing the message of a bigger Design for people’s life and potential. I’m a crazy chiropractor and that is awesome!

I have two great kids who are smart, productive and who love their parents. They understand their potential and want to make the World a better place in their own ways.

Finally, I’m grateful to have been pulled from a morass of despair and hopelessness by a Loving God who set me free to be me. I have found in the darkest of times that His Grace is sufficient and gives me a peace in the midst of any storm.

Oh yeah. I am grateful for the many friends I have who tolerate my sometimes weird sense of humor, my Conservative political philosophy.

HAPPY GIVING THANKS!

Help Your Body Heal Better, Faster and With More Certainty

How does your body heal?  How can you help it…or should you even try?

In our thoroughly modern, “scientific” age, we employ all sorts of therapies and remedies to “enhance” or “speed” the healing process.  And quite often, we take drugs to ease the pain and symptoms CAUSED by the healing process.  BUT, I would suggest to you that there is a better way.

Now before I start, I’m not telling you not to go to the ER if you’ve been involved in an accident and need immediate attention.  I’m talking about routine chronic problems that never get to heal and diminish your quality of life.  And well, what I’m about to tell you might even help that broken arm heal better, too.

Your body heals itself much like a mason repairs a damaged wall.   A crew is brought in to remove the damaged parts and prepare the way for rebuilding the wall.  Then new materials are brought in to replace the old damaged material.  A competent and capable body (like the mason) will get the job done in the appropriate amount of time.

How does your body repair itself?

However, If the nervous system is compromised, the process simply will not function appropriately.  It’s like the mason gets the word late and is not quite prepared for the job.  Then we take something to ease the pain and it’s like giving the mason a bottle of booze to keep him from getting mad.  He can’t focus and just takes longer to do the job at less than 100%.

Enter the chiropractor.  He/she makes sure the brain gets the right signal and proper instructions and the right mason are then sent to the damaged/sick area.  The demolition and repair are done correctly and timely.

So if you want to make sure your body heals properly and as efficiently and effectively as possible, find a good chiropractor that ONLY ADJUSTS the spine to remove this thing we call a vertebral subluxation.  You’ll be glad you did.

Five Reasons to Choose a Chiropractic Membership Practice

1.  Convenience – Most Membership Practices operate on a “walk-in” basis.  Because you don’t need an appointment, you work your visits to the chiropractor into YOUR schedule instead of working your schedule around your appointment.  Our job is to simplify your life and help you de-stress NOT to further complicate it.

2.  Simple Fees – One of the key features of a Membership Practice is predictable fees.  Most Membership Practices offer unlimited visits at a fixed fee, making the cost of regular chiropractic care predictable and affordable.  Simpler fees make third party reimbursement unnecessary, even obsolete.

3.  Privacy Rights -Because insurance is not involved in a Membership Practice, you never need to worry about your information being reported to an insurance clearing house.  Many people have experienced problems with information reported to agencies like the credit bureau or Medical Information Bureau.

4.  More and Better Service – Because the focus is on YOU and not your insurance company, you get exactly what you need and exactly what a chiropractor is REALLY trained to offer, the chiropractic adjustment.  Your time is not wasted on treatments or therapies that may not be needed but MAY BE covered by insurance.  Because the membership chiropractor’s focus IS the adjustment, you tend to get better adjustments AND you get in and out quicker, saving you time and money.

5.  No Conflicts of Interest – Because your relationship is with the chiropractor and the chiropractor’s relationship is SOLELY with you AND because what you pay your chiropractor is FIXED, you never have to wonder if his/her recommendations are for YOUR benefit OR their student loan or new car payment.  You KNOW that their recommendation is based on YOUR need and NOT their need.

A chiropractor that has chosen to offer a Membership Practice, has done so in order to help more people by providing JUST chiropractic care at an affordable price and in a manner that makes your life simpler and more powerful.

Oh, here’s a link to Chiropractic Membership Practices all across America just in case you were wondering if there was one near you.

The ONLY thing that ONLY a chiropractor can do.

Chiropractic is about FREEDOM and LIFE and FULFILLMENT. Every adjustment frees your nervous system a little more allowing you to experience life more fully and making a fulfilling life more possible.

I do the ONLY thing that ONLY a chiropractor can do. I KNOW where, when and how to adjust you so you can express more life. There’s nowhere else you can go to get that.

The cancer patient experience

My first chiropractor had a patient who was a recovering addict. Brought scores of folks to her practice over the years. Contracted cancer that eventually took him Home. She continued to adjust him till the day of his passing. Many of his friends asked him numerous times why he continued getting adjusted. He would respond “Because I want every ounce of life God gives me while I’m still here.”

I want YOU to get every ounce of life God has given you for the duration of your Earthly experience. God loves you. So do I.

Price Elasticity and the New Chiropractic Reality

I love Economics, often called “The Dismal Science”.  The short definition of Economics is that it’s the study of the allocation of scarce resources.  Like many things in Economics, scarcity is a relative terms.  Tow of the great caveats in Economics is “What if” and “it depends”.  In other words, Economics really is a study of behavior as it relates to stuff.  Stuff like money and the stuff we substitute for money.

Since entering the world of healthcare (specifically Chiropractic) over 20 years ago, I’ve watched with great interest the games providers play with Economics and how really naive the healthcare business is when it comes to the Dismal Science.  It’s really amazing, too, how ignorant lawmakers, regulators and administrators are about the economics of healthcare, too.  But, I’ll focus on Chiropractic in order to keep my interest high and this article short.

We all know about Economics’ Law of Supply and Demand.  We also understand that the greater the demand for a given product or service at a given level of supply, the higher the price of that good or service.  Further, we know that given a certain level of demand the quantity supplied can affect the price of a product or service.  There is an additional concept within the Law of Supply and Demand called “elasticity”, which basically is how widely supply and demand changes given changes in the price of a product or service.

OK.  Enough background.  What I want you to see are the dramatic changes facing the chiropractic profession because of the Law of Supply and Demand and the Price Elasticity of Demand for chiropractic services.  Over the last 30 years, chiropractors have benefited (?) from relative parity with other health professions when it came to 3rd party reimbursements like health insurance and Medicare.  Prior to that, chiropractors were paid directly by consumers of their service.  As a result, fees were relatively low.  After “insurance parity” chiropractic bills skyrocketed.  For the longest time, the chiropractors’ bills were rarely questioned.  And as long as patients were required to pay little or nothing out-of-pocket, they flocked to chiropractors’ offices and everybody was happy.

Eventually, the profession began to choke the goose with the golden egg.  Managed care came on the scene and the scrutiny of chiropractic bills began.  Deductibles and copays started increasing.  In other words, patients were being required to take cash out of their pocket to pay for a portion of their chiropractic care.  At that time, we began to see serious competition among chiropractors themselves but also with physical therapists and MDs..  It seems that MDs could bill greater amounts with fewer out-of-pocket requirements than the chiropractors.

Chiropractors found that even the slightest increase in out-of-pocket expense caused a drop-off in consumer demand for chiropractic services.  So, the natural response was for the chiropractor to waive out-of-pocket costs or NOPE, no out of pocket expense.  Problem was, that tactic was deemed illegal under fraud statutes. Chiropractors started going to jail NOT in righteous protests but for fraud.

The next response by the profession was “exhaustion of benefits”.  Under this approach, a care plan would be rendered based partly on what a person’s insurance coverage was.  The amount covered would be subtracted from the calculated cost of the care plan at the doctor’s per visit rate (including covered therapy modalities) and the balance either paid up front with a discount or spread over the life of the care plan.  This approach has come under great scrutiny by both legal and regulatory authorities.  Hopefully, this practice is almost gone.

But, the history of chiropractic economics has shown that the Price Elasticity of Demand is very significant.  this just means that even though chiropractors had been paid very well for at least a couple of decades, that income was the result of creative billing and lax  oversight by 3rd party payors and NOT because they competed directly for consumers on a cash basis.  Over that time, chiropractors began to equate their value with their gross income instead of the REAL demand for chiropractic services by the cash paying customer.  Many of those same practitioners have been teaching chiropractic students over the last decade or two that there is no price competition and that they should expect (even demand) a high level of reimbursement.

The sad reality is that insurance coverage for chiropractic services is almost gone in America.  Chiropractors are now in an environment where they must compete with each other for clients but with alternatives that may still be receiving some 3rd party payments while the DC is not.  In other words, there a lots of chiropractors charging rates based on what used to be paid by someone OTHER than their patient.  And as we all know, no one spends their own money like they’d spend someone else’s.

So, what we have in chiropractic now are thousands of recently graduated chiropractors who entered school to become a doctor who didn’t have to work hard while making lots of money entering a market where there is little or no 3rd party pay and an economy where people are squeezing every penny out of every dime just to make ends meet.

The new economic realities of the chiropractic profession are that students owe at least twice (in student loans) what they can expect to earn in a year.  The average income for chiropractors is falling as is the average fee for service.

Today’s chiropractor is ill-equipped to face the new market realities.  He/she must become excellent marketers, well versed in public speaking, one-on-one selling, social and business networking and business management.  They will work in smaller offices with lower overhead, smaller staff, lower incomes and lower fees.  The competition for the old reliable NMS conditions will be hard to wrench from the hands of orthopedists and physical therapists.  They will be forced to improvise their approach or seek other careers, like teaching Biology at the local middle or high school.  Not exactly what they borrowed $200,000 to end up doing.

The new reality is that chiropractors will almost be forced to narrow their scope like chiropractors of old, offer fee systems that are reasonable for most individuals and families to pay out of pocket and to sell chiropractic like BJ Palmer did in his time and Sid Williams in his.  As for me, I am glad to see this change coming.  But, I don’t think my profession and its system of learning and regulation are.  I guess time will tell.

 

 

The Membership Practice: Fees For Life!

I get lots of angry feedback from many fellow chiropractors about my “low fees” and practice style.  You see, my fees range from $89 a month for an individual to $149 for an entire family for regular chiropractic care.  It seems they deem my fee and practice structure as less than “professional”, insisting that your experience at the chiropractic office should be virtually the same as that in your MD’s office.  One replied on a Facebook forum about a blog post titled The Membership Practice:  Walmart and Unlimited Chiropractic Care. asking if one would go to Walmart to consult with a heart surgeon.  Crazy.

Truth is you would NOT go to Walmart to consult with a heart surgeon.  Face it.  You’re probably not going to buy an expensive business suit or cocktail dress there either.  Nor would you seek out a heart surgeon there.  However, millions of people around the country (indeed, the World) shop at Walmart EVERY week for home essentials like non-perishables, etc.  Studies have shown that even wealthy Americans shop at Walmart every week for consumable household goods like detergent, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, etc.

Many of my detractors will ask “What is a chiropractic adjustment worth?  My reply is simple, maybe even a little simplistic.  “A good chiropractic adjustment that does what a chiropractic adjustment should do is PRICELESS!”  OK.  OK.  What SHOULD a good chiropractic adjustment do?  A good chiropractic adjustment helps improve communication between your brain and body enabling you to live a better life, make better decisions and simply be a better you EVERY day of your life!  So, how would I value that?  I’d say “If you include chiropractic into your lifestyle for the next 40 years (and get more out of your life) at my current rate of $89 a month, it would be valued at about $43,000!

And, I’d be glad to let you pay me the Net Present Value of $43,000 today for lifetime care if you’d like.  But, really.  Who’s going to do that?  Right.  Probably nobody.  And, I really don’t want you to pay me up front.  I’d rather you pay me a little bit every month so you can appreciate your investment in your health and your life.

You see, crazy chiropractors like me admit from Day One that you should be checked regularly from now on by your chiropractor.  We also admit that while a chiropractic problem CAN lead to a Medical problem, it doesn’t need to.  We know (and want YOU to know) that your body and life will work better without pressure on your nervous system cause by a slightly misaligned vertebra.  By making it affordable (even CHEAP) we help folks find a way to include regular chiropractic care as part of their health and life maintenance plan.  Hey.  Think about your car.  What’s cheaper, maintenance or repair?  My point, exactly.

So the next time someone tells you the chiropractor wants you to come for the rest of your life, tell them you understand why!  And, tell them you know where they can find one that will make that affordable and easy for them to do.

I know hundreds of chiropractors around the country that offer Chiropractic Membership Plans.  Let me know if you need one.  I’ll help you find them.  And remember, Life is good! 

Holy Crap! So that’s what $69 a month can do!

I’m a chiropractor.  I’m “cheap”.  I charge $69 a month for “unlimited care”.  Some of my chiropractor friends think I’m crazy.  And, some of my chiropractic non-friends accuse me of cheapening my profession and even breaking the law.  Consumers sometime wonder “what’s the catch?”  But, the folks that like how they feel from getting adjusted on a regular basis LOVE me.  Some think I’m a “marketing genius”.  I like to think they’re pretty bright, too.

Let’s take a look and see who is right, me or my detractors.  I know I’m right.  I just feel the need to give my detractors a crack at being right.

When I first started getting adjusted 22 years ago, I had health insurance and gladly used it to pay for my care.  But, it wasn’t long after that that I became self-employed and no longer had a third party paying for my adjustments.  So, I did what any intelligent, red-blooded American man would do, I married my chiropractor and have not had to pay for my adjustments since!

After seeing and experiencing the wondrous benefits of getting checked by a chiropractor on a regular basis (and seeing it work on my own kids) I decided to become a chiropractor.  The joy and miracles I’ve experienced as a result of that decision are sometimes difficult for me to express in words.  My kids are healthy, happy and strong and have never worried about sickness or disease.  Neither have had a single vaccination (well, until my son entered the Army) nor dealt with chronic or infectious disease as a result.  And, I’ve not even taken an aspirin for the problem that led me to get adjusted in the first place.

Early in my own chiropractic career, I decided that I wanted to make this thing afforded and accessible to virtually everyone.  You see, I’m what’s called a DE chiropractor.  We understand that the world would be a better place if EVERY family could realize the benefits from chiropractic that my family has.  Some of my early mentors, including Drs Bob Sottile, Jim Sigafoose, Sid Williams and Richard Santo always posed the challenge “Make your care affordable and see lots of people”.  That was a formula that I could understand and embrace.

So, that’s what I did.  Like I said earlier, we charge a low monthly membership fee of $69.  It’s a little more for a couple and a family.  My thinking was not necessarily to make it “cheap” but to have a fee that someone would be willing to pay every month for the rest of their life.  In my case, if I had been paying just $69 a month, I would have paid over $18,ooo!  EIGHTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!  What if I had a hundred clients doing that or two hundred, three or five?  Do the math!

I wonder how we could transform the chiropractic profession from a bunch of insurance chasing back crackers to an army of folks helping families live fuller, happier drug-free lives?  What a wonderful place America (and the World) would be if we could help get millions fo families off drugs and on life!  I’m thinking $69 a month just might change the World!

What’s better than trusting yourself again?

One of the great things about having had clients stick with me for over ten years is that you have the benefit of lots of feedback in little bits over a long time.  Instead of trying to fill out some form with objective data at the end of a care plan, you get to hear how chiropractic has affected people’s lives in real time and in real ways.

One of the things I hear all the time from folks that have been with me for a long time is “You know, since I’ve been getting adjusted, I seem to know when things aren’t right.”  Another thing I love to hear is “I feel better about asking my doctor questions these days.  I wouldn’t have done that before.”

I wish that more people knew what chiropractic really is.  Obviously, lots of folks (maybe most) think it’s a drug-free, non-surgical approach to correcting chronic back pain.  Sure, it works for that.  But really, chiropractic is first a philosophy.  A philosophy whose premise is that all things are organized, whether living or inorganic.  In living things that organization is responsible for keeping you healthy and performing at your maximum potential.  Watching that principle play out in my life and the lives of those who use my service is one of the most awe inspiring experiences in my life.  The philosophy of chiropractic is “Why” we do what we do.

Chiropractic is also a science.  As such, we understands how it works.  We know that that organization I just mentioned flows over the nervous system and that any interference or disruption in how the body and brain communicate will affect how your body functions.  We call that a state of dis-ease.  If that communication is allowed to persist, eventually dysfunction can become disease that eventually leads to symptoms and death.  The science of chiropractic is “What” we do.

Chiropractic is also an art.  Every practitioner has their own way of expressing the art of chiropractic.  It’s our technique and mental approach to what we do.  It’s the “How” of what we do.

My kind of chiropractor is most concerned that you understand your body.  I want you to KNOW that you were designed perfectly and capable of adapting to most of life’s challenges.  And mostly, I want you to trust your instincts.  After all, “What’s better than trusting yourself again?”

Your Ruthless, Vicious Immune System

It is often said that “the best defense is a good offense”.  When it comes to your immune system that is absolutely true.  In our culture we often either overlook our immune system OR suppress it in order to control symptoms that might be making us a little uncomfortable at the moment.

One of the things I really enjoy and appreciate about being a chiropractor is watching how well people’s body performs when they ween themselves off various drugs.  When people start realizing how powerfully they were designed and how effective the body is in dealing with health and healing, they actually get excited and enjoy watching it work.

Your immune system is designed to be a ruthless killer.  When your body is attacked by a virus or bacteria, your immune system will isolate what it does not recognize as being good for the body.  Once isolated, your body’s protective mechanism then attacks the invader, breaks it down into bite-size chunks and uses the remnants to feed and nourish good, healthy cells.  A healthy immune system is ruthless and vicious in nature.  It’s job is to protect and defend you while the innate wisdom of your body continues to operate in a postive manner to help you get most out of your health and life.

However, there are ways that your immune system can be squelched and made less effective.  One way is by taking drugs that suppress your immune function for simple symptom relief.  The very thing we seek for comfort from fever, sinus problems and headaches is the very thing that allows the problem to persist and even worsen over time.  Another thing that can suppress the effective function of your immune system is stress on your master control system or nervous system.  Because your body uses the nervous system for communication, stress can actually reduce that vital communication.  That’s why we see folks under regular chiropractic care having fewer and less severe colds and flu while those under chronic stress tend to have more.

If you want your immune system to remain a “lean, mean fightin’ machine”, then stay adjusted or find a good Principled chiropractor to include on our health performance team.  You’ll be glad you did.