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What's New Right Now!
BREAKING NEWS 08/26/11: Appeal filed in ADOI lawsuit with Arizona Court of Appeals. ACS will not rest until full insurance equality is achieved. Link to lawsuit documents.
BREAKING NEWS 08/18/11: There are two must-attend ACS seminars in September and two new must-read-and-use dynamite documents from ACS. Also, ACS releases all new August 2011 eNewsletter with in-depth analysis of ADOI lawsuit. Read about all this breaking news in this interim newsletter.
BREAKING NEWS 08/09/11: Why do insurance companies hate it when Dr. Geoff Ricchio's Get Paid Seminars come to town? Maybe it's time you attended one and found out. Read this newsletter for details.
BREAKING NEWS 08/02/11: ACS members are NOT paying back insurance refund demands. Learn why in this newsletter.
BREAKING NEWS 07/27/11: Court dismisses ADOI lawsuit filed by chiropractors. An appeal will be filed immediately with the Arizona Court of Appeals. This bad decision will be reversed. Read the full story in this newsletter.
BREAKING NEWS 07/05/11: ACS recommends ideal solution for your cash practice. Read all about it in this newsletter.
BREAKING NEWS 06/22/11: New ACS lien forms work in UM/UIM PI cases.
BREAKING NEWS 06/03/11: ACS develops new lien forms to force insurers to send checks directly to you even if they refuse to honor assignments of benefits. Forms also work in PI cases and are more powerful than County Health Care Liens. Based on legal opinion from Attorney David Abney, truly a breakthrough. Read article in this newsletter.
The ACS Home Page: Constantly updated with breaking news, this is the site you have to keep checking back to see what is going on with your profession. Just click on www.AZChiropractors.org.
Friends of the ACS: This is a national organization of allies that realize the national implications and signiicance of the ACS litigation to stop ASH from imposing its standard of practice onto the entire chiropractic profession. Here's the webpage:
http://friendsoftheacs.org/
MedicoLegal Services: Home of the most practical, tried and proven resources for winning PI cases with special emphasis on low speed impact cases at http://arizonachiropracticso.intuitwebsites.com/index.html
ACS Store: Click here for sample reports to rebut IME reports from MDs and DCs, and reports from defense biomechanical engineers and accident reconstructionists, plus literature reviews on forces involved in accidents, the threshold of injury, and much more. Click on http://www.shop.azchiropractors.org/
Member Benefits and Practice Solutions: Includes extensive information on how to handle claims denials, a blueprint for developing referrals from MDs, everything you could ever want to know about recordkeeping and documentation and staying in compliance in Arizona, the key personal injury practice tools needed by every DC, and much more. Click here to go to the Member Benefits and Practice Solutions Page.
Full Time Help Line: (602) 368-9496. ACS members call and email all the time to get assistance on a wide range of issues from Dr. Immerman, a veteran DC with 31 years of experience.
To gain full access to all pages and documents, join by clicking on Become a Member Online. You will be directed to a secure online server. You can also Donate in any amount to support the cause. Even $10-$25 per month makes a difference. |
| The Arizona Chiropractic Society is here to serve you! |
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ARIZONA
CHIROPRACTIC
SOCIETY
3515 E. Carol Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85028
VOICE 602.368.9496
FAX 866.567.6762
ACS@AZChiropractors.org
 | | Alan M. Immerman, D.C., ACS President and Executive Director |
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APPEAL FILED IN ADOI LAWSUIT WITH ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS
An appeal has been filed with the Arizona Court of Appeals to reverse the decision of the Superior Court judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the Arizona Department of Insurance for failure to enforce the chiropractic insurance equality law. Briefs will soon be submitted and arguments scheduled. A ruling is expected next year. The relief being sought, a Writ of Mandamus ordering a state agency to do its job, is far more likely to emerge from the higher courts than the superior courts. ACS is predicting victory when the ruling is made in early-to-mid 2011. With victory will come restoration of full health insurance coverage for chiropractic. |
ACS RELEASES ALL NEW AUGUST 2011 eNEWSLETTER WITH IN-DEPTH STORY ABOUT ADOI LAWSUIT AND MUCH MORE
ACS releases all new August 2011 eNewsletter with detailed story about judge's dismissal of ADOI lawsuit and plan to appeal. Also, ACS members are NOT paying back insurance refund demands. Learn why. Some PI attorneys are refusing to pay doctors' bills and ACS is helping with these problems as well. Read these and more by clicking here to read the full newsletter. |
DR. RICCHIO'S GET PAID SEMINAR ALMOST SOLD OUT!
Dr. Ricchio's GET PAID Seminars will be in Phoenix on Sept. 8th for an encore performance. If you want to start getting paid again, you MUST attend this seminar. Dr. Ricchio brings you High Income and Collection Techniques that work! He teaches you how to collect 100% charges on insurance claims, how to get 60 or more new patients per month, how to stop patients from dropping out of care, how to pay yourself $20,000 or more each month, plus:
1. How to collect $100,000 profit on massage cash programs
2. How to get 10-20 new PI and med-pay patients per month
3. Setup high profit nutritional programs
4. Create a $100,000 chiropractic wellness program
5. And Much More!!
Date: Thursday, Sept. 8th, 8 AM to 1 PM, Phoenix Airport Holiday Inn. Preregistration for the first 20 doctors is only $99 including staff. Price $199 per person at the door. Call 888-396-7243 or fax 888-778-5824 to register.
DON'T MISS THIS VALUABLE PI SEMINAR FOR 3 CE CREDITS!
Is it getting tougher in the PI world? That means you must get better with PI documentation and office procedures. Therefore, ACS is bringing you a 3 CE hour program on PI documentation and much more on Sept. 22th, 10 AM to 1 PM, Doctor's Outpatient Surgery Center, 2155 E. Conference Drive, Tempe, AZ 85284. Cost $99 for ACS members, $149 for non-members, $20 discount if you register prior to Sept. 1, 2011. Call ACS at 602-368-9496 to register. Seating is limited so don't delay!
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COMBAT REFUND DEMANDS AND COLLECT ON COUNTY PI HEALTH CARE LIENS
ACS has two new dynamite documents in the Member Benefits. The first is 11.3 - Letter to fight refund demands. This is the most powerful letter of its type. If you receive a refund demand, contact ACS to work on strategy which will probably include this letter. The second is 34.1 -- Who Can an ARS 33-931 Lien Be Enforced Against, written by ACS PI attorney Steve Pincus. Many of you have called with perfected liens that insurers have not honored and asked what you can do to collect. Mr. Pincus wrote a position paper now available as #34.1 in Member Benefits. We highly recommend Mr. Pincus' law firms in Tucson and Tempe for your PI patients for high quality legal services, and in appreciation of the fact that Steve Pincus has been a Corporate Member and supporter of ACS and the profession for years.
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ACS READY TO LAUNCH LITIGATION AGAINST BCBS OVER UCC LIEN FORM
ACS is now ready to launch litigation against BCBS over its refusal to honor the ACS UCC lien form. This form is used by doctors to have insurance checks sent to them even when insurers refuse to honor assignments of benefits. BCBS has stated it will not honor the UCC liens and provided a legal explanation. The ACS attorney has responded with his legal analysis. Both can be read on the ACS home page at www.AZChiropractors.org under Breaking News.
Now, ACS has decided to fund litigation to force BCBS to accept the ACS UCC lien form and send checks directly to doctors once they receive this form. The litigation should be filed within one month. Once the litigation is successful, ACS will have solved another huge problem in doctors' offices, that of patients receiving checks and never bringing them in and paying the doctors. This happens all the time now and doctors commonly lose significant amounts of money.
We are continuing to raise funds for this lawsuit and so ask that you send your contributions to ACS as soon as possible. The suggested amount is $500 per doctor, really a tiny amount compared to the benefit of an entire career of no longer having to chase checks. Send your checks made out to ACS at 3515 E. Carol Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85028, or authorize ACS to bill your charge card on file for the $500 contribution. Be sure to read the letter from our attorney so that you know how strong the legal ground is that we are standing upon. We can and will win this lawsuit also.
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NEW ACS HEALTH INSURANCE LIEN FORMS WORK IN UM/UIM PI CASES WHERE COUNTY HEALTH CARE LIENS DO NOT WORK
The new ACS health insurance lien forms also work for medpay, UM and UIM insurance companies where County Health Care Liens do not work. You can file these liens with such carriers and they will have to honor them and send the checks to you. County Health Care Liens only work with third party insurers, not first party insurers such as UM, UIM and medpay. These liens are already proving to be of great benefit to ACS members in many PI cases where they previously had no protection for their bills.
ACS members have been sending the new lien forms into health insurance companies that do not honor assignments of benefits and none have yet stated they will not honor the liens. The ACS attorney is confident that the insurers will have to comply. This will be the end of the "check-chasing" game where the insurer sends payment to the patient and the doctor has to track down money that often is spent before it can be sent to the doctor.
Non-members can have access to the new lien forms today by joining ACS. It is as simple as calling 602-368-9496 or going to www.AZChiropractors.org and clicking on Become a Member Online on the top left of every page. Protect your UM/UIM cases today!
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ACS MEMBER BENEFITS
GROUP MEDICAL INSURANCE, LIFE, DENTAL AND VISION PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS
ACS offers its members a wide range of benefits and services including a group medical, life, dental and vision programs. Group health insurance for ACS members with guaranteed issue coverage begins after a 90 day waiting period with no medical underwriting. PPO and HMO plans are available statewide.
INSURANCE CLAIMS AND DENIALS SOLUTIONS
The many documents under this heading provide you with ammunition to defend your fee structure as usual and customary, how to file medical necessity appeals using all Arizona laws, how to file complaints with the Arizona Department of Insurance, how to file Small Claims Court Lawsuits, how to handle post payment audit review and refund demands, and a great solution for your cash practice called Chiropractic Lifecare of America (CLA).
ERISA AND SELF-INSURED HEALTH PLAN TOOLS TO GET CLAIMS PAID
ERISA governs all health insurance plans that your patients get from their employers so it is really important that you understand all of your rights under this law. We have put it all together in seven key documents including the most important provisions of the law and sample ERISA appeal letters. Everything you need for ERISA is right here.
MD-DC PRACTICE AND REFERRALS
A chiropractor who formerly was a drug rep has put together a brilliant blueprint for how to meld your practice life with MDs. We provide the reference to her webpage and book. This is simply the best material on the subject out there today.
RECORD KEEPING AND DOCUMENTATION COMPLIANCE GUIDANCE
Teaching compliance with record keeping and documentation in Arizona has always been a paramount goal for ACS, and so we have assembled a packet of information that is the most comprehensive available. Read the fruits of ACS' investigation along with an outline of the course on record keeping given by the lead Board auditor, full course notes of a lecture on the subject by a former Board chair, Medicare Noridian requirements, CMS rules for reporting timed codes, and eleven key office forms to use to streamline your operations and documentation.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Chiropractic Board requires you have a Medical Record Protocol on file and ACS supplies it here. We also teach you how to search the National Library of Medicine and retrieve articles from a medical library. In this section is a limited power of attorney form directing payments to the doctor when insurers other than BCBS deny assignments of benefits. Also, don't miss reading the great article about state boards and disciplinary actions.
PERSONAL INJURY TOOLS
Personal injury tools include the Arizona Bar Ethics Opinion that requires attorneys to pay your bill if they know it exists. We also have a position paper you can use to defend yourself when attorneys want you to pay 1/3rd of the collection costs, and when they want you to accept what the health insurance company has paid as payment in full, i.e., no balance billing. This section also includes all forms needed file County Health Care Liens, a Circular Letter from the Department of Insurance mandating fair investigations of low speed impact automobile accidents which can be used to combat insurance company fraud, and three invaluable forms for your PI practice.
LIEN FORMS FOR HEALTH INSURERS THAT REFUSE TO HONOR ASSIGNMENTS AND FOR AUTO INSURERS UM/UIM AND ALL CLAIMS
ACS Attorney David Abney has developed new lien forms that will force insurance companies to send checks directly to you even when the deny assignments of benefits. BCBS has initially refused to honor these new liens and so we expect to have to litigate to force them to do so. We intend to litigate to gain enforcement of our new liens, and have initiated a fundraising campaign for the lawsuit. No other health insurer has yet reacted to the new liens.
The liens will also work in PI cases and in fact give the provider more rights than County Health Care Liens. We still recommend filing County Health Care Liens, but these liens cannot be filed in UM, UIM or medpay cases and so the new ACS lien is the only lien that can be filed in such cases. It is highly recommended that the ACS lien be filed in these cases. These liens are a very special new member benefit for ACS members.
HOW TO QUALIFY AS A COURTROOM EXPERT IN CLINICAL BIOMECHANICS
ACS has developed a Position Paper documenting how your chiropractic education has provided you the foundation to be a courtroom expert in clinical biomechanics today. It is available to all members.
ARIZONA CHIROPRACTIC SOCIETY (ACS)
ALAN M. IMMERMAN D.C., PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
3515 East Carol Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85028
VOICE: 602.368.9496 · FAX: 866.567.6762
EMAIL: ACS@AZChiropractors.org
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SUPPORT OUR ACS SPONSORS AND CORPORATE MEMBERS!
Our sponsors and Corporate Members are very special to ACS. They help make it possible to bring our written and electronic information to you. They help pay for the ink and postage! Won't you please consider them when you need a service or product? We obviously wouldn't do business with them if we didn't think they were good folks. Please be sure to give them a look. They are supporting your profession and deserve your gratitude for that. Here are your ACS Corporate Members:
PINCUS & ASSOCIATES, PC AND PINCUS & LESPRON, PC - ARE YOU TIRED OF REDUCING YOUR BILL? With offices in Tempe and Tucson, there is no longer any reason for you to routinely reduce your bill on accident cases. Call Richard Cruz, Esq. at 480.777.2599 or Michelle Lespron, Esq. at 520.888.2599 to learn how it is to work with attorneys who understand how to beat the insurance companies at their own game. You deserve to be paid for all of the work you do!!! Click here for the firm's webpage with full information.
X-RAY EQUIPMENT * NEW * REFURBISHED: WE CATER TO CHIROPRACTORS!! STANDARD X-RAY -- OWNED BY A DC FAMILY! High Frequency X-ray Systems, Digital X-ray Systems * Digital Cassettes, 300 MA Systems * Automatic Processors, Chiropractic Tables * New * Refurbished, Statewide Sales and Service. Call Lisa Dionisio at 602-275-3344 or go online to www.standardxrayaz.com.
YOUR LISTING HERE AND IN THE NEWSLETTER: Reach our Internet readership and approximately 2000 licensed chiropractors practicing in Arizona who receive the ACS newsletter monthly by U.S. mail! Contact ACS at 602-368-9496 or ACS@AZChiropractors.org for more information.
SCOTTSDALE MEDICAL IMAGING (SMIL) AND THE CHIROPRACTIC CORRELATION REPORT by Terry R. Yochum, DC, DACBR: This new report will be provided, at no charge to you, for every patient you refer to SMIL for an MRI study. This is a compliment to SMIL's detailed radiology report. SMIL accepts assignment on PI cases and provides translators. Ten locations. For order forms, Call/email Shannon Barrow 480.425.4136 or SBarrow@eSMIL.com.
WHAT IS PROLOTHERAPY? Prolotherapy is an in-office treatment option designed to repair chronic tendon and ligament issues via the injection of natural solutions. Like chiropractic, prolotherapy is very technique sensitive. The practice of David A. Tallman, DC, ND has been exclusively limited to prolotherapy techniques for over seven years. Please contact the office at 480.922.1101 or visit www.drtallman.com for more information. Attorney liens accepted.
CANCER TREATMENT CENTERS OF AMERICA: offers whole-person, integrated cancer care by combining state of the art technology and conventional treatment with nutrition, naturopathic medicine, mind-body support, massage, acupuncture, spiritual support, pain management, rehabilitation services and chiropractic care. For more information, your patients can call 800-234-9113 or go to cancercenter.com.
TEAM MOTION X-RAY: Doctor what truly OBJECTIVE reproducible finding do you have to support your WHIPLASH diagnosis. Digital Motion X-ray is available to your patient at your office. Traumatic ligament instability is real, and could be proven. Visit Teammotionxray.com and call 602-694-5014 for a demonstration. Arizona's mobile Digital Motion X-ray Center.
CUSTOM X-RAY EQUIPMENT SALES & SERVICE: The Arizona Chiropractic X-Ray Solution Since 1968. Affordable analog or cutting edge X-ray digital systems, all types, most manufacturers. Processors, film, supplies, complete service. Call Custom X-Ray at 602-439-3100 or 800-230-9726 www.customxray.com
WHOLESALE CREDIT CARD PROCESSING FOR ACS MEMBERS: ACS has teamed up with Eliot Management Group to offer members special WHOLESALE RATES on their credit card processing! ACS itself has converted all processing to Eliot due to the incredible savings. Contact Jerry Waling at 602-685-1400 today!
CHIROFUTURES MALPRACTICE PROGRAM: Securing the future, managing your risk. Comprehensive coverage and competitive rates. Best value in the market. Contact: www.chirofutures.org or 800.219.9090 Key administrator is Dr. Matt McCoy, a name long associated in chiropractic with integrity and intelligence.
SOUTHWEST MRI SPECIALTY CHIROPRACTIC MRIs: (480) 245-5848. Winner of 2010 Patient's Choice Award. Easy scheduling, cash discounts, same day report turnaround. Call to meet Dr. Azodo for additional information.
THE NIELSEN LAW FIRM PLLC -- AGGRESSIVE LEGAL ADVOCACY: Yuri Nielsen, Esq., 310 S. 4th St., Ste. 1401, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Call (602) 257-7535. Webpage: www.personal-injury-attorney-arizona.com.
PATIENT BUILDERS, INC. - NEW PATIENT MARKETING FOR CHIROPRACTORS: The Solution to the New Patient Dilemma! No more spinal screenings! No more spending money on marketing with "possible" results! No more spending maximum dollars with minimal results! We deliver new patients to your door when you want them! Call 480-756-9377 or email info@patientbuilders.net to get started.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (PDC): WOULD YOU LIKE MORE PATIENT VISITS? Are your patients discontinuing care prematurely? 70% of new PDC clients increase weekly PVs, 30 within 10 weeks! PDC fees are only $180 for a 3 month trial basis. THERE IS NO CONTRACT! Call (800) 654-7600 for details.
THE ADLIANCE GROUP: Cooperative advertising now available to the Chiropractic communities in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Increase new patient traffic within a 5 mile radius of your practice for a low cost monthly Co-Op membership. Join today as membership locations are limited: www.adliance.com.
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MOST READ FROM THE ACS WEBSITE
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DO YOU WANT HEALTH INSURANCE TO COVER CHIROPRACTIC AGAIN?
Litigation is expensive but without it there is no hope of restoring insurance equality. We know that right now your cash flow is decreased because of current tactics by insurance companies. The only hope of reversing the status quo is to gain enforcement of our excellent insurance equality law. The only way to accomplish this goal is to get a judge to order ADOI to enforce the law. This takes a lawsuit which means lawyers and money.
Be smart and invest in this lawsuit to restore health insurance coverage for chiropractic. There are multiple ways to help. You can either join as a member or donate in any amount by clicking on the Become a Member Online or Donate Today Online! You will be directed to our online secure server for your transaction. Act today and safeguard your future. This lawsuit is literally your only hope. Even $25 to $50 per month donations are meaningful and there is no doctor in Arizona that cannot afford this amount. Everyone needs to participate in this effort in order for us to have a chance at winning. It's now or never. This is truly D-Day for chiropractic in Arizona.
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