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Ankeny, IA
Call Us
515.259.9336
Email Us
office@lifestreamclinics.com
Our Hours
M-Th 8:30am-6pm / Fri 8am-1pm

FAQ

Lifestream ClinicFAQ

Do you work with any types of insurance?

Three primary categories of insurance come to mind when this question is raised - Auto Insurance, Traditional Health Insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc.), and Christian Health Sharing Ministries.  Click below to learn more about how we work with each option.

Every plan is different, and we offer our patients tools to assist them in this process. Some of our patients choose to submit receipts for their care with us to their insurance company for reimbursement. We don't bill directly to health insurance companies, and here are a few of the reasons why:

  • LIMITATIONS ON TREATMENT WE CAN PROVIDE. They limit how often and for what purpose we can treat you (for example, many times they only allow providers to treat for the primary complaint, even if other issues are discovered during care. If you’re seen for other issues, many insurance companies only allow the primary complaint to be treated, then you must pay the rate we would bill your insurance company for – which is usually 3-5x higher than you pay now).
  • LIKELIHOOD OF UNETHICAL PRACTICE. If we were in network, we would be bound by contract to not be able to offer any of our in-network services for a lower price than we bill insurance for – did we mention that’s much higher than our cash prices? Example: The first 8 visits might be covered by insurance (after you pay your copay…which, by the way, is probably about what you’re paying cash for an adjustment), but now, for the rest of the year, instead of paying a cash-based price, we are required to charge you whatever the cost per visit is that we’d bill your insurance company, or we’re practicing unethically and outside of our contract (which many providers choose to do).
  • MANY OF OUR SERVICES ARE NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE. PERIOD. Many of the treatments and services we provide are not ever covered by insurance (functional neurology, low level laser sessions, nutrition consultations, etc.).
  • OUR CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT IS ABOUT THE COST OF MOST COPAYS. This means for chiropractic care, you’d be paying about the same price anyway, with or without insurance coverage.
Important! Remember, you're doing the right thing to get the care you need, regardless of insurance. Unfortunately, in the world we live in, insurance companies don't always cover holistic modalities and treatments. The investment into your health is worth it, and the good news that you get to decide what is best for you, regardless of what your insurance company dictates.

There are many companies that allow Christians to share healthcare costs in lieu of traditional insurance. These programs can be attractive due to the lower cost per month of “coverage”; oftentimes, more holistic treatments are considered “shareable” among members. If you’re a member of one of these organizations, the next time you have a shareable need, contact them to find out if your desired treatment with us (such as physical rehab, chiropractic care or massage therapy) is covered. Most of these organizations require you to pay for your treatment up front, then you receive monies from others in the organization to cover your treatment costs, as allowed. For certain situations where longer term care is necessary for a shareable need, such as during pregnancy, we can simply create a custom care plan with a lump sum amount that includes all of the shareable treatments you need. You can then pay in full and immediately submit your receipt to your organization for approval and member sharing to begin. This is a significant time saver for you, so you don’t have to gather the bills and submit as you go along. For those on one of our family membership care plans, it’s especially important to go this direction as we can’t split apart family care plan per family member to show the bill just how the organization wants to see it for the individual actually receiving the coverage, which can result in non-shareable amounts.
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