There is a lot of money in OMT..

[MSERMAN]

therapy once a DO opens a practice. I go to my DO (Specialty:Family Practice) once a month for OMT therapy on my back. For example, I got my bill yesterday for last months visit. The office visit was $75, Hot Packs $15, OMT $70 for a grand total visit of $160 for 10 minutes of service. Sounds like a lucrative field to me if a DO can build a nice patient volume of OMT pts. Just a bit of FYI for you all interested in OMT once you go out into private practice.

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[bustinbooty]

Don't confuse the amount a D.O. may charge for services with the amount that the insurance company will actually pay out.
Many insurance companies don't pay jack for OMT. The D.O. charges a large amount in hopes of getting paid half of that at best by the ins. co.

 

[drusso]

I've got two words for you when it comes to OMT: Cash only.

I know a lot of DO's who do have OMM practices and don't mess with insurance at all. It's all cash on the barrel.

 

[bones]

drusso is right.

Insurance may work for those who want to use OMM in family practice as an adjunct, but for specialists insurance companies underpay. The way most handle it is they charge what they feel they are worth- and leave it up to the patient to work out the difference with their insurance company.

There are some DO's charging $400/hr doing OMM only, but a more typical fee for a good doc is $100-150 for a half hour visit (full hour for the first visit at $200-300).

Skilled specialists can fill up their schedule with modest advertisment and patient referrals at such rates in about 2 months in a moderate sized city. This holds true from northern california to alabama to amish country in pennsylvania.

Ethically speaking, it is very important to avoid charging more than you are worth- and that can sometimes be difficult to gauge (as patients may have trouble with this assessment).
Many chose to use a sliding scale based on income or a barter system, so those of less affluent economic backgrounds are not rejected from the practice.

Since OMM specialists offer a service that is not covered well by insurance- few use insurance and therefore virtually all OMM specialists can get patients without going through the insurance system (and they even tend to be overbooked). Because of this it is possible to charge rates comparible to FP's and within the price range of patients who want the service (200-300/hr), while pulling in yearly salaries closer to surgeons ($300-450k/year).

After business expenses, insurance companies and associated fees can cut your take home salary down to about 30% of what you charge patients (even when they reimburse you well- and holds true for surgeons and FP's), whereas working for yourself and running a reasonably tight ship, you could make 60-70% of what you charge, avoid all the paperwork, and then still take out business expenses before taxes- and this is ultimately what makes the above scenario with OMM specialists possible- at least until the insurance companies come around.

The key is getting good enough to produce results worthy of charging these sorts of rates for an OMM -only business, and supporting the research efforts to validate (or annul) the claims you currently make about your skills -so you can honestly say what it is you do without being dubbed a quack by the rest of the medical community.

peace,
bones

 

[Starboard]

Bones & Bustin-

My awesome classmates... you are so right! 🙂

 

[osteodoc13]

Bones lays out the situation for OMM-only practicioners pretty well. It is an unfortunate situation because I feel that OMM should not be restricted to the "rich," but with today's insurance situation this is the reality.

Let me add, though, that some PPOs do pay for OMM, provided you know how to code for what you do, and Medicare pays pretty well too. Medicare will pay about $95 for a visit, provided you treat 5-6 body areas (something which is easy to do in a visit,) and about $135 for an initial visit. I believe PPOs pay similar rates. Unfortunately, considering you would probably see 10-15 patients a day, the cost of hiring a biller to process your claims is too high. Thus most practicioners will simply provide a Superbill so that those patients whose insurances will pay can get reimbursed.

The upshot of not making insurance contracts, especially Medicare contracts, is that the practicioner is free to charge patients whatever they feel is appropriate, i.e. reduced rates for patients who can't pay the whole fee. This would be considered fraud if they charged insurances a different rate.

Finally, with OMM specialists making such good money, many of them can afford to provide free or reduced cost care at community clinics, something which is difficult for your average practicioner to afford.