I was diagnosed with SLE and Fibromyalgia and conventional treatments were
not going as well as expected.

My insurance company, United Healthcare, provides insurance coverage for
acupuncture, but they do not list them with the other providers.

I was told to call around to find someone who was in network.

I contacted a Dr. Loucks about services and was told to come in for a
consultation which lasted about an hour between my husband, me and her.

I was very concerned about her being within network, being I had just had
another Chiropractor in the area state that they were in network only to
find out months later that this was not the case and to receive an
unbelievable bill.

She swore that under no uncertain circumstances that she was within the
network and her girls knew how to file appropriately and even had the
billing person come in to show that we were covered and that we were only
responsible for the deductible.

This was almost two years ago and now I received a notice that she is taking
me to court to pay for bills that my insurance did not cover because she
again was not in network.

Her billing person mentioned to me that this was done to several other
patients, but was unable to assist any further.

After talking to many people about this situation, it seems to be a common
practice among Chiropractors to get income.

To top it all off, my primary care provider has had to refer me to an
Orthopedic Surgeon because there is damage to my neck that appeared after
seeing her. The damage has caused me to lose function in my legs, arms and
hands.

I was just served on Christmas and my court date is in another week. What
can I do to help myself.





Jo

P&M
"Mark & Jo Glass" <mglass6@nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:lmilvv4vhcg36ofk36nmslehd56iksh672@4ax.com... I was diagnosed with SLE and Fibromyalgia and conventional
treatments were not going as well as expected.

<big snip>
To top it all off, my primary care provider has had to refer me to
an Orthopedic Surgeon because there is damage to my neck that
appeared after seeing her. The damage has caused me to lose function in my legs,
arms and hands. I was just served on Christmas and my court date is in another
week. What can I do to help myself.
The first thing you need to do is to find an attorney. He'll
certainly want to file a continuance to postpone the court date, but
it's going to take a day or two to do that. Hence, you'll need to
contact him (or her) today. This one isn't a good do-it-yourself
project.

AFA the fibromyalgia itself, we've referred a number of our clients
to Robert Bennett, MD, at the Oregon Health Science University. He's
one of the world's foremost authorities on the topic. If you're on
the west coast, you might want to see if you can get a referral to
him.

Eliyahu Rooff
Paralegal
Walla Walla WA Jo

Mark & Jo Glass <mglass6@nc.rr.com> wrote:I was diagnosed with SLE and Fibromyalgia and conventional treatments werenot going as well as expected.
[OP was treated (acupuncture) by Dr. Loucks, a chiropracter, for
SLE and Fibromyalgia. Loucks claimed that she was part of OP's
PPO network.]This was almost two years ago and now I received a notice that she is takingme to court to pay for bills that my insurance did not cover because sheagain was not in network.
[snip]To top it all off, my primary care provider has had to refer me to anOrthopedic Surgeon because there is damage to my neck that appeared afterseeing her. The damage has caused me to lose function in my legs, arms andhands.I was just served on Christmas and my court date is in another week. Whatcan I do to help myself.

You _don't_ do anything to help yourself. You get legal help, pronto.

You have new damage that first appeared after seeing this
chiropracter. This could be a coincidence, but it could also very
well be malpractice.

See an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice. Ask your
friends and relatives to recommend an attorney, and call up those
attorneys and ask for a referral to someone with the appropriate
specialty. If you _can't_ find an attorney that way, use your county
bar association's referral service, or even (_truly_ last resort) call
up one of those attorneys who advertise on TV and radio.

When you make your appointment, ask how much they charge for the
initial consultation. The answer you want is "the initial
consultation is free".

The lawyer will determine if you have good cause to seek damages from
this chiropracter, and probably write a letter to Dr. Loucks
telling her to leave you alone lest she dig herself in deeper.

There are a lot of good chiropracters. I'm seeing one. But there are
also a lot of quacks practicing on a Chiropractic license.

As with attorneys, the only way to find a good chiropracter is to ask
friends and relatives who they see and what their opinion is of their
chiropracter.

This is for discussion purposes only, and is not legal advice. I'm
not a lawyer. If you want legal advice, hire a lawyer.

--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and
to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising
liberty and justice for all.

>She swore that under no uncertain circumstances that she was within thenetwork and her girls knew how to file appropriately and even had thebilling person come in to show that we were covered and that we were onlyresponsible for the deductible.

My guess is that you didn't get this in writing, though?
now I received a notice that she is takingme to court to pay for bills that my insurance did not cover because sheagain was not in network.

Your insurance carrier would have been able to tell you if they were in network
or not. Lesson for the future.
my primary care provider has had to refer me to anOrthopedic Surgeon because there is damage to my neck that appeared afterseeing her. The damage has caused me to lose function in my legs, arms andhands.

Ok..ok...here's your best option. Let her know that you are going to sue her
for malpractice. If you truely have damage from her, you should do that anyway.
With your court date coming up so quickly, see a lawyer NOW. Let them know that
you are thinking of suing this doctor for malpractice. Get a letter of
representation from them. Let the DC know that you will sue her if she persists
in suing you. If she does not believe you, fax her a copy of the letter of
representation.

A lot of doctors would rather write off a bill than undergo a lawsuit for
malpractice. Of course, again, if you are truely damaged, and you can prove
that the damage was done by the DC, then go through with the suit either way.
You deserve some justice.

Good luck.