Cost of Group and Individual Psychotherapy During AcuDestress OHIP pays the psychotherapy aspect of your treatment. Our goal is to produce a widely available schedule of programs at the lowest possible - cost - providing effective hands-on treatment with no more than a 60 day waiting period. Hands-on services, actual appointments and groups patients can attend for mental and emotional problems (stress management) are not widely available in the community-at-large, as a too small list of providers are kept busy - but we address this as best we can, reducing waiting time by having office personnel who can cut through red tape - but most of all operate through the highly efficient use of group treatment - and the almost universal use of telemedicine to provide services - as our sole way of providing services. Because provincial health care coverage pays for our initial intake visits (this is not completely the case with the Régie de l’assurance maladie de Québec who reimburse Québec residents who pay for their services in advance up to 90% of the Ontario fee schedule.) We can usually see new patients within a two week window. To do this, though, we need patients to do their part too, filling in forms we require in a timely way, or making what financial arrangements are needed without undue delay. A large number of people in Ottawa-Gatineau have insurance that covers the acupuncture portion of our fee because of the supplemental health care plan of the federal government and high tech companies, among others. Others pay their own fees. At the other end of the spectrum, some of our patients qualify for attendance based only on having OHIP, and others qualify for fee reductions. Because of the great variety of options with regards to costs and fees, may we suggest that you read this page carefully, and if questions remain, that you first e-mail us ( nancy@acudestress.ca ) and talk to us about your particular situation. Fee-paying patients may request a post-dated cheque plan. We’ll do the best for you we can. Call: Jane at 613-319-6750 Call during working hours until you get a live operator as we find that returning phone calls, responding to voicemail messages is both time-consuming and result-delaying, a frustration for all concerned... Health Care Workers Exemption Health care professionals and those who work in health care facilities are exempted from fees, for a reason which begs explanation. The “off the beaten path” nature of the program requires that it to be explained to potential attendees by someone who has fully experienced it themselves. If it interests you as a person who might send others, your next step is to experience it. Reviewing Acudestress after your initial session If suggested by Dr Bailey at your out-take session, you may be admitted for a second session (15% of clients repeat the program at some time.) This may occur because your problem is sufficiently complex that it requires two courses of acupuncture. If at any time you’d like to make a case for returning you must speak to Dr. Bailey usually during an individual psychotherapy session like your intake or out-take sessions. If you paid $450 to attend, your fee will be lowered to $225. If insured, your insurance-covered fee will be the sane $720. You must check with your insurer (even the federal government’s Sun Life) to make sure you will be covered. Due to the cost of providing this unique service, we can only forego acupuncture fees in a limited number of patients. Most patients, however, can be provided with a six month payment schedule if required. Determine your payment status during an email or live conversation with one of our office personnel before arranging your first appointment. It is unpleasant to get a surprise after beginning treatment. Keep in mind that we do not get paid by the provinces for acupuncture, yet we have the added cost of paying those who provide it.mailto:nancy@acudestress.cashapeimage_3_link_0

ACUDESTRESSCOST PAGE

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Cost of Acupuncture During AcuDestress


Dr. Michael O., Smith’
s 5-point ear acupuncture was  rendered  official in 2013 in Ontario in the Ministry of Health’s Bill 50 (The Traditional Chinese Medicine Act.)

OHIP pays for ear acupuncture treatment only at the Toronto General Hospital, the Toronto Western Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto, as pilot projects. Since April 2013, other hospitals have arranged for paid coverage, chiefly for substance-addicted inpatients (including Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital.) Outpatient treatment in Ontario is otherwise provided at a cost when provided by technicians certified by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association which is headquartered in the United States.


COSTS (2018)


Clients insured for acupuncture services  $ 720


We provide 18 treatments, at $40 per treatment for clients who are covered by employer-provided supplemental health plans. Each employer negotiates their own plan with an insurer, such that every plan is different. Most but not all supplemental health care plans cover acupuncture, some have a dollar limit, and some plans even exclude doctors. The only one we can vouch for is the Canadian Government Employee Plan administered by Sun Life, which covers all active and retired permanent federal civil servants and their families. Other than the Sun Life federal government plan, you must check, asking whether coverage is provided for services provided by  a physician acupuncturist. Dr. Bailey not a licenced  acupuncturists but a fully-acupuncture-trained physician who provides acupuncture. (My physician CPSO number is 21879.


Clients NOT insured for acupuncture services  $450


If you are not insured and are not exempted on the basis of being a client of an Ottawa (or district) Community Health Centre (CHC) like South East Ottawa Community Heath Centre the fee is $30 per treatment. If you are unable to pay this fee in one payment we can arrange for payment by post-dated cheques. We have stopped accepting credit card, debit card, so payment must be made by electronic e-transfer  or cheque. Please ask us about installments if you need to spread your payment out. Payment is due on the first day of the program but will be refunded if you decide for whatever reason, not to continue after the first week of the session.


Exemptions:  Fees are waived (exempted) for clients of Southeast  Ottawa and the other 10 Community Health Centre patients and people on ODSP (Ontario Disability Service Plan).


A minority of clients of Community Health Centres have insurance coverage as employees or retired employees. In this case they will pay the amount they receive for insurance (usually 80% of $720 = $576 and their cheques will be held uncashed until eight weeks after the program so they can get their reimbursement requests submitted.  Acupuncture fees are also waived for fellow health care providers.


PAYMENT All arrangements concerning billing and cost are administered by one of our program administrators. Your experience of AcuDestress begins with an individual intake visit of one hour, which is  covered by OHIP fully by the Régie de l’assurance maladie de Québec.  After your intake appointment you decide whether to attend. Our program coordinator, Jane Vance answers program questions at 613-319-6750.


Nancy Defalco Bailey handles payments at nancy@acudestress.ca   Nancy also handles payments and insurance receipts. Email her to get answers to your questions. Make sure to tell her if you are assuming exemptions. She will then be able to look this up from our files. Do this before your session.



Visit our APPOINTMENTS PAGE  with remaining questions and to book your intake date/time and our Frequently Asked Questions page for further inquiries. Please do not expect Dr. Bailey or Nancy to become involved in negotiating with insurers or in matters of reimbursement of fees. We have been at this  fir over 20 years, have tried this before without any results at all. Please do not request us to intervene on your behalf. We’d like to but it doesn’t work.


Nancy (or in some cases others from our office) handles all fee matters, and issues all receipts and sometimes makes  appointments with Dr. Bailey. If you have been under the impression that fees will be waived in your case (as they are in cases of patients of the Ottawa Community Health Centres) make sure to mention this, as we may otherwise expect that you are a paying attendee.


As we have several different arrangements with patients due to fee matter discussed above, don’t be surprised if inadvertently you are asked to pay while being exempt. Sometimes it happens. We’ll correct it when it does.


ACUDESTRESS separately from acupuncture, involves two types of service - group and individual psychotherapy which are paid for in full by provincial health plans (Ontario and most other provinces) or in part (Quebec) AND acupuncture, for which patents pay - but which is increasingly covered by employer-provided supplemental health plans, or by the recipients themselves where possible. A few patients are regularly treated, by special arrangement, each group session without paying out-of-pocket fees to come.