Insurance Claims & Therapy
Important: If a patient had received treatments and the patient’s insurance claim was rejected by an Auto Insurance Company or WSIB, then the patient is responsible for their therapeutic expenses (this includes the new patient initial examination expense).
Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Insurance Claims and Therapy
Education Note: Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVAs) can be devastating to a person’s life and although there are numerous motor vehicle focused clinics all over the city, many have either a chiropractor or physiotherapist doing the initial examination and treatment procedures. In some clinics, a patient may not receive a lot of direct attention as the clinics may be owned by investors who survive off a high number of patients to help with the overhead costs of having a large MVA focused clinic. In addition to this, the motor vehicle industry had made changes to its payment and patient management system in 2010 that has caused many clinics to close or avoid taking motor vehicle accident cases due to the lack of funds for the time required to manage a motor vehicle patient from first intake to any extended treatment that may be required. Sometimes patients may get lawyers involved, and the MVA process may get even more complicated in regards to the communication for all parties involved (i.e. Insurance companies, patients, practitioners, and the clinic). This summary is provided so that future patients can better understand the limitations of today’s clinics that do take on MVA cases as the doctors involved are working within a limited guideline that has strict rules and a small budget for some injuries that an individual may sustain.
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, even a minor fender bender, it’s important to make sure that that you are properly examined and treated. Even minor injuries that seem fine at first due to shock, may develop into more serious conditions if they are not treated. Until recently, Dr. Javitz had avoided MVA cases completely for several years due to the above changes and complications. Currently, Dr. Javitz may take on MVA cases for his current patients, referrals of patients from Codsell medical the medical center where his old office use to be, referred patients from current patients, and possibly some walk-ins that his facility is equipped to manage (i.e. most likely will avoid any catastrophic MVA cases). This will be a slightly selective process as some patients may benefit from a facility that is equipped with multiple treatment staff members rather than the one on one care that Dr. Javitz provides. In addition to this, if needed, Dr. Javitz will cooperate with lawyers, and only take patients that have retained MVA lawyers where the understanding is that Dr. Javitz will treat within the coverage limitation of the insurance company that is paying for the treatment. Unless the patient is planning to continue paying for treatment beyond that which was determined to be covered by the insurance company, Dr. Javitz will halt the treatment.
Background Information: Dr. Javitz has experience in treating MVA injuries, including strains, sprains and whiplash. His background in the industry included helping with the setup and running of a motor vehicle clinic to which he was committed to for almost two years at the start of his career. He has various equipment to provide a complete range of therapies that can treat a patient’s injuries and that can help to put the patient on the road to recovery. With his help, a patient may be able to return to their normal daily activities in the shortest possible time if the injury is not so severe that it will require other specialist involvement. For more information about Dr. Javitz, please visit the “Office Info” section of this website.
Treatment Cost Note: Dr. Javitz has separate pricing for treatments relating to MVAs because these particular patients tend to require more paperwork management time, more reassurance and education time, as well as more treatment combinations in a single visit causing more wear and tear on used equipment. This separate pricing is only slightly increased from the regular treatment visit costs. The treatment services will be covered by the patient’s motor vehicle insurance and the patient is entitled to receive a certain minor injury amount of treatment coverage regardless of how light the injuries feel. A key detail that all patients should know upon starting a motor vehicle claim is that if they or their spouse have extended health care (EHC) coverage from work, the MVA insurance company REQUIRES that the treating practitioner first use up the patients EHC before they pay the difference beyond that. This means that the patient may have to pay out of pocket upfront a little before getting reimbursed by either the EHC coverage and/or the MVA insurance coverage. Once this is exhausted, only then will the MVA insurance company pay up to what it has deemed as necessary. Once the MVA insurance company decides not to cover treatments anymore, the treating practitioner can only request further treatment coverage. Beyond this, the patient may require a lawyer to deal with the insurance company.
Paperwork
When you arrive, you will receive some paperwork to fill out. This gives us a starting point to address the purpose of your visit and lets us document your general information. To speed up and get the most out of your first visit with Dr. Javitz, please download and print the first visit patient intake forms for the clinic. There will be various other additional forms that will need to be filled in for MVA cases and these forms typically get sent to the patient as an accident benefits package from the patient’s MVA insurance company. More information about the first visit or new patient visits to this clinic can be located by following the “New Patients” link / tab on the websites top menu.
Worker’s Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) Insurance Claims and Therapy
An injury at work can seriously affect a person’s life routine, but you are entitled to have the treatment for your injury taken care of. Since WSIB does not pay much for its claims and requires excessive paperwork between the chiropractor, the employer and WSIB, not too many chiropractors take such claims. This leaves the service to be offered by oversized clinics that lose the personal care touch that comes from your own doctor of chiropractic.
Dr. Javitz is willing to take WSIB cases that come up with his own current patients as an additional service. Any WSIB cases that have been started somewhere else or are new patients to this clinic will be handled on a per case basis with the potential to not be taken on at this clinic. Such a decision will relate to the severity of the injury and the resources available to handle requirements of the particular WSIB claim.
Dr. Javitz apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause, though WSIB cases can get messy and complicated with very little funding to compensate the paperwork time involved with this. Additionally, individualts who are relying on a third party payer do not always respect the clinic’s schedule when they miss appointments or cancel last minute. This affects the ability for another patient in need to miss out on benefiting from that time slot in the schedule. Since third party payer cannot be charged for such missed appointments, this situation is best avoided when a new WSIB claim is started mainly for current patients or referrals of current patients.
Paperwork
When you arrive, you will receive some paperwork to fill out. This gives us a starting point to address the purpose of your visit and lets us document your general information. To speed up and get the most out of your first visit with Dr. Javitz, please download and print the first visit patient intake forms for the clinic. There will be various other additional forms that will need to be filled in for WSIB cases and these forms typically get sent to the patient by their employer or WSIB. More information about the first visit or new patient visits to this clinic can be located by following the “New Patients” link / tab on the websites top menu.