May 2004

Taking them to small claims court

by Dr. Geoff Ricchio

For the past 18 years, I've been a practicing chiropractor in California and, over the last five years, I've travel around the country consulting with doctors of all specialties in proper marketing and health care collection techniques.

Sadly, chiropractors are abused by attorneys and the insurance industry more than any other professionals I consult with, including dentists and medical physicians. Without sounding paranoid, it sometimes seems there is a conspiracy against our profession both inside and out.

More than a decade ago, I began systematically suing insurance companies and attorneys who were cutting my bills or otherwise stealing money. I went to small claims court more than 114 times, winning over $250,000 from anyone who tried to get out of paying appropriately.

To my utter amazement, the greater majority of small claims suits that I filed settled out of court for 110% of all outstanding charges.

My experience taught me a few valuable lessons:

***  PI Attorneys will lie to you. I know its hard to belMay 2004ieve, but attorneys are the biggest liars in the solar system. Most of the time, they don't care about your bill and will do anything they can to cut your bill ‑‑ in some cases even threatening you with what amounts to blackmail! Always get the proper and necessary paper work in advance, signed by the attorneys and patients in personal injury cases.

***  Insurance companies will lie to you. If you calMay 2004l and speak with three different customer service people at the insurance company, you will get three different answers. Don't trust what they tell you on the phone when calling for benefits. Get a copy of the patient's insurance policy. If they don't pay on time, go after them in small claims court.

***  Patients who owe money will lie to you (esMay 2004pecially if it's regarding a personal injury case). I have seen and heard this problem a million times. The PI case settles and the patient fires the attorney and takes the money ‑‑ or gets the attorney to pay them all the money. Another common rip off is when patients take the third party check and refuse to pay the doctor. It's important to always remember that patients will lie in small claims court, so make sure you have all the proper and necessary paper work to protect your bill.

When the above scenarios occur, I recommend strongly that you take swift action. Take the offender to small claims court and sue for 110% of the outstanding charges. Nothing will be gained by waiting or playing the insurance and attorney games. These people are in the business of "stalling and papering you to death."

With the proper use of small claims court, as well as the introduction of the vital paper work, your office will enjoy better and more timely insurance and PI payments and even in some cases get your checks mailed FedEx.

(Geoff Ricchio, DC, is a health care consultant to medical, dental, and chiropractic physicians across the country and instructs providers on proper marketing and collection techniques. He presently consults with more than 400 health care providers nationwide. He can be reached at 831-GET-PAID for training seminar or a FREE audio CD introducing his most exciting and important products, the "Get Paid Small Claims System," and the "Get Paid Cash Autodebit System.")