July 2007

How to eliminate insurance forever

by Dr. Marc Surprenant and Dr. Joelle Surprenant

We were sick and tired of losing patients, figuratively and literally, because of the whole insurance issue. It was probably happening more than we recognized, but we got sick of seeing patients get upset in our office over something their insurance did or didn't do. We were frustrated with waiting for an unknown return on our invested efforts to help our patients get well. Also, we began to recognize that some patients aren't really "in." They don't refer other patients and we believe it's because real value was never built. We know most of you have been there before and have seen it. We've had it. We're done!

After the last seminar we conducted, we walked away saying we were finished playing the game. It was time to train hard to build value so all our patients would pay out of pocket. We don't recommend that everyone follow the route of no insurance, especially if it's still working for them, but we do recommend everyone begin acting as if they couldn't accept insurance anymore.

When the day arrives that insurance is no longer a viable option, what will you do? The answer is, you'll have to build so much value that nobody would walk away without prepaying!

That's what we did. Our collections for two weeks are now larger than any one month's record in the office. Why? Because we built value.

Take this to your next doctor's report. All value comes from you. Throw insurance under the bus. Insurance companies are largely responsible for the deplorable condition of the "health" care system in this country.

First, we show our patients that insurance is not in it for them. We ask: "Does insurance pay for you to be healthy? Gym memberships? Filtered water? Organic food? No! If you want to be really healthy in the U.S., who has to pay? YOU!"

We explain, "The insurance industry benefits from you staying sick. You're scared to death that you'll have a major sickness or disease, so you pay $1,200/month for family insurance."

Then we ask, "Do you think an HMO or PPO knows how many visits it takes you to get well?" We show them an x‑ray of a woman in phase III who went to a DC for 20 years, but only went on the recommendations of the insurance, 12 times a year. We say, "If you have any insurance, thank God, but if you don't...who pays for it?" The patient answers, "I do." We reply, "How much is it worth to prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes? The answer is it's priceless. The only difference between subluxation and cancer is, what... time?!"

After this discussion, most patients are so disgusted with their insurance they don't even want to send the super bills. They see that the medical/health insurance model will limit, possibly damage or even kill them and their family and they're now willing to pay cash for everything. They're willing to be responsible for their health.

Last week, a woman in our office began a care plan for her and her husband for a total of $4,000 for less than a year, and she said, "How do you make any money?" She thought it should be more expensive! We built the value.

The best was at a recent doctor's report. A family had to pay $5,000 for their care and the husband said to my front desk, "could you put an extra $2,500 on the bill to pay for my sister?" Of course, the staff said "yes!" His wife asked, "How is she going to get here three times a week from New Jersey?" (we're in Charlotte, NC). That's the value. That's mobilizing. Patients see no barriers (financial, time, distance, etc.). This is what happens when you build the value.

We're not asking you to abandon insurance, but abandon your small thinking ‑‑ and build the true value of what we have.

(Drs. Marc and Joelle Surprenant have a large family practice in Charlotte, North Carolina. To contact them: Call 704‑540‑0055 or email docsoop@yahoo.com. They give credit for their success to God first and to their chiropractic and wealth coaches, who can be contacted at www.maximizedliving.com and www.quantumwealth.org.)