Complaint Review: Preferred Chiropractic - Dr. Michael Cormier - Scottsdale Arizona

One important point to make in response to Carrie's statement that chiropractic does not "cure" anything. This is a philosophy of one group of chiropractors and not all of us. Carrie I respect your doc and the patients that you have, but it is a misstatement to say that all chiropractic patients care only about their spinal alignment. I am a DC in California, and I work with many sports teams in the area, and we do perform much more than just alignments of the spine. Although that is a major part of what we do, we do bring about cures to injuries. Our patients are concerned about carpal tunnel, sprains and strains, herniated discs, headaches, etc, and we do create treatment plans that are designed to alleviate their condition as quickly as possible and then teach them how to prevent their recurrence. My reason for pointing this out is that many people out there still do not know that we do much more than just spinal alignments.

Samuel, I am sorry that you had a bad "billing" experience with Dr. Mike. You did not have a bad experience with a Chiropractor. Mistakes happen in all businesses. Credit card companies, grocery store check outs and retail stores can all make mistakes. Dr. Mike tried contacting you numerous times to no avail. The only way to fix the problem is to address it. I am only assuming here, but it sounds like you thought they were trying to collect a debt and you CHOSE not to respond to their calls. Hence you recieved a bill for $800.00 some odd dollars. If I CHOSE not to respond to a creditor they will come looking for me too! I have personally worked with Dr Mike, Dr Jeff and Preferred Chiropractic. I was an employee for over 1 year and held all the Doctors and owners in high esteem. In all the time I was there helping them build their business, I never knew a single Doc to be "interested in money only". All of the Doc's were there to help people. This may sound like a brainwashed crock to you, but you would have to witness the good that they did to believe it. Many families could not afford care but certain Doc's worked out plans to help them recieve care that was within their budget. Many fabulous DC's have worked with PCC and Dr's Jeff & Jeff. PCC has become a nationally known office and company primarily through it's phenomenal Doctors and staff as well as it's attitude toward customer and patient care. They are respected by many and loved by thousands for the care and compassion they give on a daily basis to their patients and families. On the topic of "cures"... There is no such thing as a cure in Chiropractic. Patients who see a DC (Dr. of Chiropractic) are interested and correcting their spinal problems and then maintaining spinal health. None of this is a "cure" for dis"ease", colds, cancers, back aches or any other such "symtoms". Have you ever watched what happens to a hose that is stepped on? The flow of water slows or stops altogether. Imagine your spinal cord in the same aspect. Your spinal cord is connected to your brain which, correct me if I am wrong here, sends messages to your entire body. Breathe, flex, relax, blink, react. From the brain our nerves run to the heart, liver, lungs, stomach and bowels. The brain tells these organs how to function. When a nerve is pinched, wether partially or completely, signals from the brain are not going to make it through. Therefore, proper function of that organ will not occur. When this happens, deterioration and dis"ease" will happen. A DC's job is to re-align the spine to allow all of the brains messages for proper functions of organs to pass through uninhibited. Once proper alignment is achieved, maintanence must be performed to keep the spine in alignment. Don't you perform regular maintanence on you car to keep it running smoothly and for many years? Why wouldn't you do that for your body? Before you bash, please educate yourselves about Chiropractic. Someday it might save your life or the life of a loved one.

Winky: As co-founder and past owner of Preferred Chiropractic (PCC) I can assure you that the practices of the company are ethical. If not how could they have passed the insurance company audits that they've been through? And they have passed each one with flying colors. As a company gets larger more people stand up and notice. So it is not worth doing it wrong just to make a buck. PCC was started in Feb. of 1991 and has been a thriving business since then. The reason for the success is because the mission was always to keep the patient first REGARDLESS of their financial ability to pay. Give, love and serve has always been the moto. PCC has tens of thousands of patients that have been served over the years and the majority of the patients seen in a day are wellness care maintenance folks...not insurance patients. It's actually a 65/35 split at clinic #1...so yes, there will be a lower charge because the cash patient does not want the exercises etc. Let me ask you...when a patient's insurance benefits exhaust what else is there to do other than set them up on a cash plan. They are not "cured"...they simply have a financial status change. I'm proud to say that the medical records do match the level of service given. I personally speak with dozens of insurance companies each week and they are more than satisfied with the notes that are provided by PCC. I am a traveling consultant. Over a 12 month period I will review MORE THAN 500 different chiropractors daily notes and office procedures. I can say without hesitation that PCC is in the top 10% of all offices in the country with regard to compliance. Winky...I see offices every day that I wish were up to the standards of PCC. I believe that things do fall through the cracks at times. We are all in the customer/patient service business so things get busy. None of us are perfect...not one. Thank goodness because this keeps me (as a consultant) in business! If you think that PCC is falling short in some areas and you have info that I don't then try to be a part of the solution. PCC is trying every day to serve patients the right way. You obviouly care or you wouldn't take the time to respond to the e-mails. Winky, I won't be responding to you again in this manner of correspondence. If you still feel the way you do and would like to help then call me and we can discuss this. Otherwise I'll consider that you are disgrntled and aren't interested.

Ok, Dr. Jeff!!! What about billing for airline employees at a discount no copay, then billing under another physicians name who did not even see the patient!! Nor did the billing physician see the medical records. You only billed under that doctors name because he had a contract, and the physician treating the patient did not have a contract!!! Yes, it is true!!! You are CURED as soon as we use up all your benefits with your insurance company. Then you become a cash pay patient. What was it ??? Oh yeah $25.00 per office exam, adjustments, therapy etc are $35.00 to $85.00. To be paid at the time of service. And then medical records do not substaintiate the level of service. OOPS, the patient is responsible!!! You probably still have claims unpaid from 5 years ago for clinic 1, cause the medical records do not match services rendered, no referral, no authorization, and dont forget timely filing. You can not bill the patients for your mistakes. I have seen it too many times!!!

Ok, Dr. Jeff!!! What about billing for airline employees at a discount no copay, then billing under another physicians name who did not even see the patient!! Nor did the billing physician see the medical records. You only billed under that doctors name because he had a contract, and the physician treating the patient did not have a contract!!! Yes, it is true!!! You are CURED as soon as we use up all your benefits with your insurance company. Then you become a cash pay patient. What was it ??? Oh yeah $25.00 per office exam, adjustments, therapy etc are $35.00 to $85.00. To be paid at the time of service. And then medical records do not substaintiate the level of service. OOPS, the patient is responsible!!! You probably still have claims unpaid from 5 years ago for clinic 1, cause the medical records do not match services rendered, no referral, no authorization, and dont forget timely filing. You can not bill the patients for your mistakes. I have seen it too many times!!!

Ok, Dr. Jeff!!! What about billing for airline employees at a discount no copay, then billing under another physicians name who did not even see the patient!! Nor did the billing physician see the medical records. You only billed under that doctors name because he had a contract, and the physician treating the patient did not have a contract!!! Yes, it is true!!! You are CURED as soon as we use up all your benefits with your insurance company. Then you become a cash pay patient. What was it ??? Oh yeah $25.00 per office exam, adjustments, therapy etc are $35.00 to $85.00. To be paid at the time of service. And then medical records do not substaintiate the level of service. OOPS, the patient is responsible!!! You probably still have claims unpaid from 5 years ago for clinic 1, cause the medical records do not match services rendered, no referral, no authorization, and dont forget timely filing. You can not bill the patients for your mistakes. I have seen it too many times!!!

My MANY years of observation and knowledge of the chiropractic field has always impressed me in one respect. It's absolutely astounding that a "cure" is usually declared upon the limits being reached on one's insurance policy. Such expert timing! 'Ya think?

You can't trust anyone because you don't know what goes on behind the scenes~ not every company is bogus, but it's like everything else~ it's the ones that make it look bad for the rest~ Evidently the doctor got wind of his name being posted on this site, and you at least have to give him credit for trying to remedy the problem instead of getting totally defensive, as many do in that position. And I would definitely make sure that anything pertaining to the company is removed from the credit report. And just a thought..........spell-checker.

As one of the origional founders and past owners of Preferred Chiropractic Centers I was deeply saddened to read the comments by Samuel and "Winky". Although I don't know the details of Samuel's case I can assure you that nothing improper was done. I have known Dr. Mike Cormier since 1997 and observed him as he's grown as a chiropractor and an individual. Dr. Mike is an honest, ethiccal and talented chiropractor. Knowing hunreds of chiropractor's around the country and in the valley I have chosen Dr. Mike to be my doctor. I've chosen him because he is simply the best and most ethical doctor I know. This is evidenced from his response to Samuel by writing off the balance. It's too bad that Samuel didn't respond to Dr. Mike's repeated phone calls because he is missing out on the quality health care that he would have received from Dr. Mike and his team. As for Winky I am deeply saddened that they feel this way about Preferred Chiropractic (PCC). They obvioulsy were not paying attention during the training process. PCC takes every effort in making sure that the services that were billed were actually performed. The procedures and policies that are in place are unparalleled. Doctors from all over the country visit "Clinic 1" to learn the procedures and ehtical billing practices of this system. I know this because I am the person who gives them a tour of the clinc. I 100% stand behind the PCC team and owner. They are ehtical, caring and generous. I wish Winky would call me at 480.893.8600 to discuss this further. I'm sure I won't receive a call because "Winky" is not even willing to give their actual name. Rebarcak

I am an ex employee of Preferred Chiropractic. I know for a fact that all of the clinics expecially clinic number 1 in Tempe, AZ. All of this was done with the VP of the company fully aware. I did not speak up when until I left there employment. I have worked in the medical/billing field for some time, and I have never seen so much deceit, lies and medical fraud in my life. Just remember if you happen to go their again, they will bill your insurance for services not performed, or done multiple times, so they can get the most money from insurance companies, regardless if you need it. It is all about the money and get rich fast!!!! Be careful!!!

Dear Mr. Rodriguez, Your complaint has been brought to my personal attention regaurding the concerns you had with your account. It seems there were repeated attempts to contact you so that you may make a call to your insurance company informing them that your treatment was not a result of an accident. Leaving our company with no other choice but to take further action, your account was sent to collections. However, as a gesture of good faith we would like to accept any payments made as payment in full and forgive any remaining balance. I appologize for the inconvenience. Please contact me personally if you have any questions. Thank you. Sincerely,