FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Integrative Medicine & Urgent Care

Because our services at Forum Health Modesto are so specialized in Integrative Medicine, as providers, we do not follow patients in the hospital. We recommend that you have an ongoing relationship with a general practitioner outside of this office who is available for emergencies, urgent care and hospital admission.

We do provide emergency phone coverage to our patients during evenings and weekends but ONLY on issues that we treat. For these types of rare emergencies you may call:

Except for issues of medication reactions for medications we have prescribed, these phone calls will be charged and billed to you as phone consults.

If you need refills on any prescriptions, please speak with your pharmacy directly to fax a refill request to our office. Then, please contact the office only during the week day business hours for any issues regarding prescriptions. We do not address issues regarding prescriptions on weekends.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become a patient?

Please call or e-mail our office to talk with us about your specific needs. Most often, the length of the first new patient visit is 1 hour and 15 min to cover all the current health issues you are facing, review past medical history, past labs, and create with you a treatment plan and actions.

On the day of your initial appointment, it is helpful for you to arrive 10 minutes before your appointment time so that all necessary paperwork can be completed efficiently. You may choose to bring someone with you to take notes during your visit or you may bring a recording device to record the visit exchange.

We look forward to partnering with you to create and help you continue your optimal health.

We do not require a referral to see you as a patient. All you need to do is contact our scheduling specialist to arrange a new patient appointment. Although we do not accept insurance and are not a participating provider for any insurance or health plan including Medicare and Medicaid, the office can provide you with an itemized receipt form which may be submitted by you for insurance reimbursement consideration. This varies by payer and we suggest that you contact your insurance in advance in order to understand their reimbursement policy relative to our services.

Do you accept insurance?

Many people who have contacted our office for our services have asked us why we do not bill insurance directly when other medical and chiropractic providers do. We fully understand the financial challenge this presents to some patients, and we wish there were a way for us to bill your insurance company. Unfortunately, at this time, there is not.

Here is why: When clinics bill health insurance companies directly, the providers are required to become participating providers. The provider must sign a contract that allows the insurance company to determine which services they will and will not provide and how much they can charge for those services. In general, insurance companies are not focused on any preventive or wellness services. They are heavily invested in the conventional model of health care that too often relies on drugs and surgery. We are committed to the functional medicine model that addresses the underlying causes of your symptoms with specific nutritional and lifestyle recommendations.

A participating provider must agree to accept the fees the insurance company establishes, regardless of whether the fees are reasonable or applicable to that practice. In general, these established fees cover the actual cost of the briefest (and we believe the lowest quality) care. The providers who are participating providers are required to accept discounted fees for their services, and they cannot bill the patient for the difference between their fee and what the insurance company will pay. Therefore, the clinic must write off the difference, often as much as 50% or more of the doctor’s fee for service. At the same time, the participating provider’s office overhead costs have increased dramatically because of the staff, time, and equipment necessary for processing and tracking claims.

In today’s healthcare environment, the actual cost for provider to provide services continues to rise, while the percentage of reasonable fees that insurance payments cover is declining. At the same time, the profits of health insurance companies and the salaries of their top executives continue to rise to record levels.

Most providers and clinics cope with the requirements of being participating providers by keeping their office visits very brief, so that they can see many patients within a given time frame. When their clinic becomes unprofitable, it must be supported by another institution. Most primary care medical clinics are not self-sustaining financially and have had to merge with hospitals whose expensive, high-tech surgical and diagnostic procedures are priced to keep the clinics afloat financially. Most chiropractic clinics keep office visits very brief and see many people per hour. Ironically, some of our patients complain about their extremely brief and unsatisfactory office visits in other chiropractic and medical practices, while at the same time expressing frustration that we do not accept insurance. Unfortunately, we have found that we cannot be participating providers in the insurance networks and provide the time-intensive, well-researched, expert intensive care that we do.

What about future visits?

Your first visit is about 75 minutes with your second appointment in a month for about an hour. After the first 2 initial visits you will meet every 2-6 months as needed.

After your initial appointment you may choose to continue to see your provider in person for any follow-up visit. Sometimes they will allow those follow-up consults by phone – depending upon what they feel is necessary for your best care. These are charged at the same rate as an office visit based on the time spent on the phone and any necessary time to finish caring for your needs.

Most often return office visits are scheduled for 45 minutes with a minimum of one half hour, or longer according to your needs.

Who can become a patient?

Anyone can be a patient.

What happens if I cannot make my appointment?

There will be no charge for cancellations made at least 48 hours before the time of appointment. Otherwise, you will be charged for half of the fee unless we are able to fill your appointment time.

How are my lab tests and associated fees handled?

Forum Health offers its patients direct preferred pricing on lab work through its in-house program, Labs Direct. On average, the Forum Health Labs Direct program saves patients 79% on lab testing, regardless of insurance coverage, with our direct preferred pricing.* Ask our front desk for more information!

*Cost with insurance is dependent on insurance company, plan and medical necessity. Costs shown are an estimation based on case studies and past patient experience evaluated by Forum Health. Please contact your insurance company for the exact reimbursement amount.

Can I use my FSA/HSA funds?

Yes! You can use your FSA/HSA funds to pay for any services at our clinic.

I still have some questions, is there someone I can talk to?

Yes, please send an email to [email protected] or call (209) 247-9170

Where are you located?

Our office is located in Modesto, California:
1120 13th Street, Suite B Modesto, CA 95354

Phone:
707-536-9722

Email: [email protected] More Location Information Here >>

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Not near our Modesto office?

No problem, our Forum Health Modesto team is available to you no matter where you are.