Is Functional Medicine Covered by Insurance?
“Do you accept insurance?” This is likely the most frequently asked question I receive at my Wellness Practice, and I understand the question.
SIMPLY PUT, I SERVE CLIENTS,
NOT INSURANCE COMPANIES.
Seeking naturopathic and holistic care takes a lot of thought and careful consideration for where you are in life, financially, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Financial considerations should be considered because working with a Functional Naturopath and Fertility Practitioner isn’t just about the care itself, it’s complete lifestyle changes as well.
The model of functional medicine is built around developing a relationship with the client and truly getting to the root cause of health and wellness concerns. It’s the model I chose, not only because of my personal life experiences but because every person deserves to have a practitioner that provides the best individual care possible.
What’s the difference between the two models of care?
Conventional insurance-based medicine is built around the concept of labeling you with a reimbursable diagnostic code (diagnosis) and then finding the medications or a procedure to match.
A functional medicine model of care works through the functional medicine matrix, balances imbalances, considers the connection of mind-body-spirit and often can’t label your symptoms with a single diagnostic name because body systems communicate. I remove the artificial silos of body parts into specialty areas of conventional medicine and consider you as a whole person, mind and body, with communicating body organs/systems. The core of functional medicine is finding the why, or the root cause, and simply operating in a diagnosis to medication model doesn’t fit for me or my work with clients.
My work with clients involves individualized and group care, spending the time needed to get to the root of your health concerns, using advanced functional testing that takes more time and knowledge to interpret, and then personalizing treatment plans to include natural therapies…
…insurance does not cover these practices because functional medicine is not viewed as “a means of addressing your health” to insurance providers.
Many treatments in functional medicine are considered “alternative” because they don’t involve a medication for symptoms, but rather supplement an individual’s unique needs. I understand as a Functional Medicine Practitioner that what works for you might not work for another client, because you have a unique genome, microbiome, and lifestyle – factors that aren’t considered in mainstream medicine recommendations.
My Wellness Practice, being a true functional medicine approach, doesn’t work with insurance, we work with clients.
My Functional Medicine Wellness Practice Values: Advanced Care, Personalized Care, Time, Flexibility, 1:1 Personal Relationships, Transparency, and above all no barriers to seeking the care and support you need.