Another reason why I hate insurance

It's no wonder there's such a clamor for a single-payer system of health care in America. With crap like this happening all over the place, you wonder WHO the health care system is REALLY designed to benefit, after all. When American business (and individuals) are crumbling under the pressure to pay ever-increasing premiums and insurers continue to reduce payouts, the fact that insurers and health plans are negotiating to avoid criminal prosecution is simply unforgivable.

When will we learn that more insurance simply begets more fraud and waste? If the insurance and health care business doesn't clean up its own act, it will be done TO them because of their own misbehavior.

Check out this story and more: CoxHealth to pay $60M to settle with Feds

Springfield, MO-based health system CoxHealth has agreed to pay $60 million to resolve a myriad of charges related to its financial relationships with referring physicians and its Medicare billing practices. According to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, which conducted an investigation, CoxHealth violated the False Claims Act, anti-kickback statute and Stark rules on self-referral between 1996 and 2005.

Here's the link to the full story and more.

Live for today. Plan for tomorrow.

The only life we have is lived today. Not tomorrow and not yesterday.

How many folks do you know who spend almost all their waking hours fretting over what they had or had not done in the past or what someone had done to them. Then there are folks who do little more than worry about what might happen in the future. But, there are very few people you'll run across that simply enjoy TODAY.

It took me a while to realize that the only thing I can do anything about is today. Not only today, but this very moment. I was one of those who spent a good part of his life thinking about how I had been done wrong by this person or that. Or, how things might have turned our had some event have happened just a little differently. Well, things just CAN'T happen differently than they already have.

I see people in my practice, in my business circles and socially who simply worry about EVERY potential catastrophe or wrong turn. They're loaded up to the gills with insurance, take all kinds of drugs or spend inordinate amounts of time going to various doctors "just in case". I think I saw somewhere that 90% of the things we worry about NEVER come about. And, those that DO come about are things over which we have no control, anyway.

Here's my prescription for a better life. Live your life to the fullest today. And if you wake tomorrow, have another go at it. BUT in your quiet moments, visualize how you want your life to go, including the things you want to do, be and have and with whom you want them. Vow to do those things within your power to make those things happen and THEN to simply allow God (or the universe) to handle the details. When you awaken in the morning, check your list and get on it.

Life seems fullest when it is simply and joyfully lived. Appreciate the life you have. Live it well. Live it today.

"We accept ALL cases..."

". . . regardless of their physical condition or ability to pay."

When I was first exposed to chiropractic, it was from the perspective that we were all designed to be healthy and to live a full and powerful life. Further, the concept was that we don't as much need so much help from the outside (doctors, medicine, etc.) as we simply need less interference. And knowing what we know about health, it is really immoral to withhold care from someone either because they might have been "diagnosed" with some incurable disease OR because they simply did not have the financial wherewithal at the moment to pay for their care.

While I consider myself a free enterprise advocate, I frankly appalled at our health care system in America. It's absolutely shocking to me that someone can be told that they MUST have a certain procedure BUT their insurance policy does not cover that particular procedure OR they have a "pre-existing condition" that nullifies their coverage. To me, it is simply unethical and immoral to withhold care essential to a person's health and well-being for any conceivable reason. Of course that presumes that the person doesn't have a death wish and is not continuing (or will not continue) to do those things that might have caused their health problem.

Because I practice from the premise that you are supposed to be healthy and that what I do can help your body function better REGARDLESS of what your diagnosis may be, I simply cannot withhold care from someone seeking it. Now, that doesn't mean that I promise a cure for any and all disease whatsoever. It also doesn't mean that mine is a free clinic. I do have a fee system based on a membership concept. You pay more by the visit than you would by the month or by the year. And, my fee system is designed to be more reasonable than those based on third party payment systems like insurance.

Obviously, there are a few problems with this mindset. Some folks will try to abuse the privilege and not want to pay when they can. Sometimes, I end up with more folks who can't pay than those that can and it puts a strain on the budget. And sometimes, because someone is not paying the true value of the care they're getting they don't take the care seriously and don't stick with the program long enough to get the full benefit of what I offer. But, I have found the intrinsic value of offering folks hope in the midst of their despair more than offsets any of these drawbacks.

I'm always reminded of the story in the Bible of the woman with the issue of blood. Everyone knows that she had no hope left and knew that if she could just touch the hem of the Master's robe she would be healed. Well, most folks overlook the beginning of that story where all her money had been consumed by doctors treating her condition.

I've always believed that this world would be a much better place if we each would simply do what we can for as many as we can whenever we have the chance. If you'd like to make a donation so that we can continue to help people live a better, fuller life. feel free to use Paypal or send your donation to Dr. Tim Langley, 2100 Roswell Road #200C-526, Marietta, GA 30062.

I'm not a fan of insurance, but...

... it has it's place.

Being a heath care provider, I used to have this love-hate relationship with insurance. You know, it's one of those damned if you do and damned if you don't things. It seems you can't afford to be without insurance. But, you can't afford to buy it, either. Small business owners and those in life transitions seem disproportionately affected. So in many cases, folks just don't buy it.

Well, there's a time and place for everything. Health insurance is NOT about health. In fact, I think it often creates more health problems than it either prevents or corrects. Insurance really is designed to protect you from catastrophic and unforeseen events that could cause you irreparable financial harm if you're not prepared for it. In fact, most bankruptcies in America are caused by either a health problem or a legal problem.

Health insurance costs could be reduced dramatically if folks would simply understand that their health is THEIR responsibility. Lose weight, exercise, eat better, drink water, work on your spiritual life, do more with your family, find effective ways of reducing (or managing) the stress in your life and, of course, find a good wellness chiropractor.

Here's the point. A good friend of mine had a massive heart attack at his gym on July 4th. Fortunately, the General Manager of the LA Fitness where he worked out, knew CPR and how to use the emergency defibrillator. My friend is still alive, but in a coma in the local hospital. There's not yet a prognosis. Regardless of what the prognosis turns out to be, the medical costs are going to be astronomical. Because my friend was between jobs (and had been for some time) he was without insurance. If he recovers physically, he might never do so financially.

So, find a way to get even a ca strophic hospitalization policy to protect yourself and your family financially should something unexpected happen to you. While not a fan of insurance, I do understand that it protects you from extremes. You can keep the costs to a minimum if you just cover the extremes. But by all means, cover at least that.

Stay healthy. Say "I love you" to those you love. And NEVER take life for granted.

Evolution of a Chiropractor

When I fist discovered chiropractic, it was due to a bad back that had tormented me for 20 years. Since then, I haven't had even an aspirin for back pain.

When I decided to become a chiropractor, it was because of a young girl whose life and miserable prognosis were literally transformed because of chiropractic care. A little girl whose mom was told that her child should be institutionalized because she'd "never be like normal kids" is graduating from graduate school after receiving full academic scholarships for both undergrad and graduate school. Indeed, she's not like normal kids. She's incredibly superlative.

After graduating chiropractic school (Life University in Marietta, Georgia) I practiced exclusively as an upper cervical chiropractor. I had great disdain for chiropractors that mixed things (physical therapy, etc.) other than chiropractic into their practice. I was a "medical basher" because of the havoc I had seen wrought in people's lives by virtue of medical errors and arrogance.

It's funny how time, experience and awareness tend to take the edge off subjectivity. Does that mean that I think physical therapy is any more beneficial to the chiropractic patient, that upper cervical care is no longer the best approach or that the practice of medicine is no longer dangerous? Of course not!

All of those things are STILL true. However, that is only MY perspective. I've come to realize that the determination of what care an individual gets SHOULD be THAT individual. AND that individual deserves as much accurate information as he/she can get. It is my job as a chiropractor to communicate BETTER that chiropractic care can help people live better, fuller lives less dependent on dangerous drugs. It's even more important that I do those things over which I have some control, those bing communication of MY message and giving the very best adjustments I can while educating folks on the power they have to control their health, their happiness and the conduct of their own lives.

I've come to realize that you CAN see your medical doctor and me at the same time. Getting adjusted has nothing to do with what your MD might recommend. When I accepted the premise that I can help you regardless of what condition you may have or what kind of insurance coverage you might (or might not) have, practice became simpler and easier.

The Secret of Happiness

The Secret of Happiness

I followed happiness to make her mine,
Past towering oak and swinging ivy vine.
She fled, I chased, over slanting hill and dale,
Over fields and meadows, in the purpling vale.
Pursuing rapidly over dashing stream,
I scaled dizzy cliffs where the eagles scream;
I traversed swiftly every land and sea,
But always happiness eluded me.
Exhausted, fainting, I pursued no more,
But sank to rest upon the barren shore.
One came and asked for food, and one for alms;
I placed the bread and gold in bony palms;
One came for sympathy, and one for rest;
I shared with every needy one my best;
When lo! sweet Happiness, with form divine,
Stood by me, whispering softly, "I am thine."

- Burleigh

Live an Inspried Life

One of the problems I have with the health care business is that it seems to be based more on fear than on health. Most folks never give a thought about health UNTIL it appears to be doing away. Well, they DO think about "health insurance" out of fear they won't have the money to fix a problem if (I mean when) it comes up.

Truth is, you were designed to be healthy, strong and whole. Health is your body's default mode. sickness disease and infirmity happen only after your body has been worn down due to bad lifestyle choices, chronic stress and prolonged exposure to toxins.

But, the comparison of fighting disease and building health is like the athletic team whose focus is on not losing instead of winning. The team whose focus is on wining scores as many points as it can while giving the opposing teams less time to score. The team whose focus is on NOT losing can slip up allowing their opponents to gain the advantage and take the game away. How can you possibly build health if your focus is on preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes or whatever?

Instead, try living an inspired life. Do those things that build health. Find an exercise program that you can enjoy and will do regularly and from now on. Educate yourself on healthy nutrition. Pursue wholeness in your relationships. Develop your spiritual life because it helps you find and develop peace. Understand, believe and have faith that you are supposed to be powerful and healthy. The stronger YOU are, the weaker and smaller disease will be against you. The stronger you are, the harder disease will have to work to take hold.

Pursue health. Pursue happiness. Pursue wholeness. Pursue your spirituality. Live an inspired life free from fear. You'll be amazed at the difference iin your life when inspiration runs your life instead of desperation.