Insurance for Our Delmar, NY Office

For our Vermont Office's insurance information, please visit our Bennington page.

The Value Of Feeling Well Again

Is living a pain-free and healthy life worth what you would spend on a few nights at a nice hotel? Or how about all the money you pay-out in co-pays to doctors and the pharmacy? Go back and add up how much you've been spending. You may be surprised.

Then ask yourself if the treatment plan with your regular doctor is working. Are you connecting with your doctor or is he or she rushing you through another appointment? Here at the Center, we listen first, set goals, and then work together to achieve your optimum health.

We're here to help you feel your best.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do We Take Insurance?

We at the Center like to rephrase the question as: "Does Insurance  take us?" or more specifically, "does insurance take integrative medicine?" That time has not yet arrived but we do believe that it is coming.

Currently, the insurance model for reimbursements are based on the complexity of disease-providers are paid according to how sick the patient can be documented; how well you are is not rewarded. It is not a time based model but a procedure based model of health care. For example: a 10 minute procedure can get 10 times more reimbursement than more than an  hour of listening and processing a complex patient with chronic illness. We at the Center, will not compromise a reduction in time spent with our patients or increase diagnostic codes to gain more funding. We honor our relationship with you and will not be boxed in by how many diagnoses we can report or what procedures we can obtain to achieve the highest reimbursements.

 We believe the right reimbursement strategy is to reduce the number of diagnoses and avoid unnecessary procedures and pharmaceuticals in order to achieve the highest level of health for the individual. Preventative Care should be the goal for everyone: the individual, the practitioner and the health  insurance companies to help one to feel their best.

Currently at our Delmar office, The Empire Plan for New York State employees will cover office visits with Dr. Stram and Jennifer Enos, ANP only until March 1, 2012. At that time, we will no longer  be accepting the Empire Plan due to insurance restrictions,  and low reimbursement rates,  which have not changed for the past nine years.  Our family physician, Jennifer Baker-Porazinksi, MD and Adult Nurse Practitioner, Jennifer Enos do accept MVP for her primary care services.

Medicare patients seeing Dr. Stram must pay for their services at the time it is given, as Dr. Stram is a non participating physician and does not accept assignment from Medicare, but our office staff will bill Medicare on behalf of the patient for eligible reimbursements of allowable charges, payable directly to the patient.

Currently at the Center in Delmar, the following programs are accepted for acupuncture services -you only pay your applicable copay- however we advise to check with your insurance for your individual benefits:

  • MVP Trivantage, MVP Gold, and GoldAnywhere

Acupuncture for the treatment of nausea from chemotherapy is reimbursable by many insurance programs. Please check with your insurance company for this benefit.

While there is a growing trend among insurance companies to provide more prevention benefits, some may not routinely cover all of the Center's services. Therefore, it is advisable to check with your individual health benefits program; you may, like many of our patients be reimbursed for some of our services. If you have out of network benefits, and have and met your deductable, you may get reimbursed substantially for your visit.

The Future of Medicine

"We are breaking away from the current medical-financial model that requires physicians to spend only ten to fifteen minutes per patient," explains Dr. Stram. "We believe this is the future of medicine, and we know more and more people are recognizing this with their willingness to pay out of pocket for consultations. We strive to set fair fees and to provide great value for the amount of time and care we take with each individual. We work with individuals to obtain insurance coverage whenever possible."

Please call the Center to check on the latest updates to our insurance programs. (518) 689-2244

Will My Insurance Company Reimburse Preventative Care Services?

Most likely you will get a portion of your payment reimbursed if we are not in contract with your plan. Many times there is a deductible that must be met before the health insurance company will reimburse for out of network services. The reimbursement rate is usually at 80%; please check with your individual insurance carrier for your benefits.

Many health insurance companies are just starting to embrace the value of prevention, offering some benefit programs that allow for a certain number of wellness visits for services such as acupuncture and massage. Make sure you check with your own healthcare insurance company for newly added programs.

Please call the Center to check on the latest updates to our insurance programs. (518) 689 – 2244.

How Do I Submit For Reimbursement?

We'll help.

Our office managers  will be more than happy to give you completed receipts with the Center's practitioner's evaluation and procedure codes to submit to your insurance company. Often insurance companies will reimburse a portion of your claim, near 80% if there is out of network benefits associated with your plan. Please call your insurance company for details.

The greatest number of requests for reimbursements comes from patients of complementary medicine; your demand for this kind of health care will steer insurance companies to make the change, just the way it did for chiropractic care not long ago.

Does The Center For Integrative Health And Healing Offer Discounts Or Special Pricing?

Yes. The Center's staff will work with individuals to make its services affordable. For example, we offer discounted rates  for acupuncture through our community acupuncture program, lower rates for scenar therapy for point of pain treatments, senior discounts for some services, and prepaid health programs that reflect a 20% savings. Please see our Life Renewal Packages for examples of our wellness programs.

The Center and its entire staff are committed to helping our community have access to our integrative medicine services. Please check with our office and on Web site for the development of new financially accessible programs.

Will My Employer's Flexible Medical Spending Account Pay For The Center's Services And Prescribed Supplements?

Yes. Most if not all of our services should be covered under these plans. You will need to check the details of your individual employer's coverage. Supporting documentation may be required which our doctors can provide. Optimizing your health and well-being is a sensible way to spend your pre-tax dollars.