Chiropractic Subscriptions: Secret to Not Relying on Insurance for Revenue

When your cash flow depends on reimbursement from insurance carriers, there’s always a bit of concern. You have to deal with filing claims, waiting for them to be accepted, and mitigating any rejected claims. Claims denials are also rising across every area of healthcare. A 2021 study showed that the claim denials have increased by between 11% and 23%. The results also show a troubling pattern. Approximately 86% of the claims denials reported were potentially avoidable, but nearly half were unable to be recovered. That’s a great deal of time and effort to go through just to not get paid or to fight with patients to collect after the fact.

Another worry is that insurance carriers can adjust their plans at any time and decide what to cover or not cover. Reimbursement rates can also be cut at any time. That’s what happened in 2016, when Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee let chiropractors know that it was cutting reimbursement rates for chiropractic care by 70%, and when UnitedHealthcare said that it would no longer cover spinal manipulation for migraines or severe headaches.

When you take all of this into account, not relying on insurance for revenue sounds like a good idea.

However, can your practice survive and grow without insurance carriers? The answer is yes. Many chiropractors have moved to a subscription model and cash business and ditched the insurance hassles.

Subscription Plans Reduce Reliance on Insurance

Implementing a subscription model can reduce or eliminate the reliance on insurance payments to run your business. By transitioning to a cash business, you no longer have to deal with the administrative work, claims filing, and arguments with insurance providers about getting paid for work that you’ve already done.

With a subscription model, you get paid consistently every month, so you can better forecast your cash flow.

Subscriptions are the secret to not relying on insurance for revenue.

How Does a Subscription Model Work?

A subscription model bundles services into a recurring monthly fee. For example, you might offer a subscription that allows patients to get four adjustments and unlimited consultations each month for a flat fee. Or, you might choose to customize the plan by adding transcutaneous electrical neuromuscular stimulation, heat treatments, massage, or other therapies.

Typically, subscription models offer patients significant savings over the long term. For example, rather than charging $85 for a visit, you might offer a bundle of four visits for $129. This saves money for patients getting frequent treatments. Although it may be slightly less than what you might receive from insurance reimbursements, it provides a consistent cash flow without having to deal with the complexities of insurance.

Half-year and full-year subscription plans also keep patients returning. These produce consistent revenue and healthier long-term outcomes for patients.

Another big benefit for both chiropractors and patients is that chiropractors are no longer dependent on doing what the insurance carrier pays for. This gives you the freedom to design custom care plans that best suit the patients’ needs. Patients can also get more treatments than what their insurance will cover, since most will cap visits.

This keeps the focus totally on the patient rather than meeting insurance rules.

How ChiroSpring Helps with Subscription Plans

With ChiroSpring's chiropractic practice management software, subscription plans are easy. You can quickly create templates for care plans that bundle adjustments or customize plans to fit unique patients’ needs. Care plans can be as simple or as detailed as you want, and updates are simple.

Most subscription plans are “use it or lose it,” so the software platform tracks patient visits against the subscription plan and automatically deletes unused appointments at the end of each payment term.

With automated and integrated payments, you can store credit card or ACH/echeck payments securely in the system to make the payment process easy.

ChiroSpring makes subscription plans simple to execute with the industry’s leading preferred chiropractic software. Besides subscription plans, you can get everything that you need to run your business efficiently in one cloud-based package, including:

• Online scheduling and intake
• SOAP notes
• Billing
• ERA reconciliation
• Outcomes assessments
• Image capture with digital annotation
• Care plans
• Appointment reminders
• Integrated payments

Whether you’re operating a single location or multiple locations, ChiroSpring makes running your practice easier than ever.

Produce Consistent Revenue with Less Hassle

Not relying on insurance for revenue is liberating. Using subscription plans, you can move to an all-cash business and forget about insurance reimbursements altogether, or you can supplement your insurance business to reduce your workload and produce consistent revenue.

Either way, ChiroSpring can help make it happen.