Practice Policies
Payment: Please expect to pay for services at time of delivery, as you do for most services. We will give you a Superbill receipt that contains all the information needed to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.
Insurance: I know you pay a lot for insurance, but I don’t belong to any insurance plans because they just don’t pay for the cost of the time necessary for good medicine. This means that I work only for you, not for an insurance company, not for a large organization, clinic or hospital, and not for the government. Your well-being is my only concern and I have no conflicts of interest when it comes to your care.
Most of our patients with PPO policies end up being reimbursed 40-60% or more for their expenses with us, although we can never guarantee that because of the wide range of insurance policies and coverage. I will always write reports or talk with Medical Directors of insurance companies on your behalf if you feel you are not getting reimbursement to which you are entitled.
Medicare: If you have Medicare as your primary insurance, please let us know when you make your first appointment, as your consultation charges will be significantly lower than our usual fees.
While Medicare does not pay for preventive services, acupuncture, nutrition, or most mind/body services, you will be reimbursed according to Medicare’s schedule for medical visits and consultations. As a courtesy, we send in your bills to Medicare every 4-6 weeks so you will get any reimbursement to which you are entitled. It can take 90 days or more for you to receive your reimbursement from Medicare.
Time: The initial consultation is usually 60 minutes, and may or may not include acupuncture depending on your needs and the complexity of your situation.
I would rather take the time to assess and treat you properly rather than treat you quickly, unless you are in acute pain, in which case we’ll aim to include a treatment in the first session and catch up on details later. Follow up acupuncture visits take 30-40 minutes, and follow up consultations can take from 30-90 minutes, all individualized according to your needs.
If you are coming from a distance, or have an unusually complex case, we can make the initial appointment longer so we have enough time to do what we need to do.
*Due to our COVID-19 safety measures, we are scheduling the initial consultation via telemedicine only at this time.
Fees: The initial 60 minute consultation fee is $450. Consider that when you consult with me you are simultaneously talking to a medical doctor, a Chinese medicine practitioner, a nutritional medicine practitioner and a teacher of psychotherapists. Follow up sessions are billed at the 45 minute rate for consultations, case management, and advocacy. Follow-up acupuncture treatments are $190 each. Guided Imagery sessions are scheduled for 60 minutes and the fee is $450. We accept cash, checks, VISA, Mastercard, and Discover credit cards.
Scheduling and Cancellations: I do not overbook and reserve your appointment time exclusively for you. Please give us at least 24 hours notice of cancellation and you will not be charged for the time. With less notice, we will try to fill your spot and if we can, there will be no charge to you. If we cannot fill a late cancellation, I appreciate you being financially responsible for that time.
I aim to run on time, and usually do. Please aim to be on time too. If you are more than ten minutes late for an appointment it may not be possible to give you the good treatment you deserve, and occasionally we will need to reschedule the appointment and charge you for a missed appointment.
Phone calls and Emails: I’m happy to answer short phone calls or emails without charge, and offer a no charge 10 minute phone call for new patient inquiries to make sure we will likely be a good fit. If phone calls require significant time (10 minutes or more), or become a regular part of our care, then there will be a charge for them based on time spent.
Contact: The best way to contact me is by emailing me at: info@drrossman.info. Phone messages left at 415-925-8600 will be checked in the morning and at the end of the day.
Scent and Pet Free Office: We love all kinds of animals, but some of our nicest patients have serious allergies to them, so please refrain from bringing them to the office. The same goes for perfumes and colognes. Subtle yet distinctive odors are also an important diagnostic clue in Chinese medicine so it’s better for you not to wear scents if you are having acupuncture treatments.