Dr. Mark's response: The first thing you have to realize is that chiropractic's role in the health care system is truly that: health enhancement. It is not simply the treatment of a disease - that's allopathic medicine's hail to fame. So consider chiropractic like you would consider dentistry.

Most people don't argue with the fact that going to the dentist is pretty much a life-long endeavor. (As long as you want to keep you're teeth looking good and working well). Chiropractic's role at maintaining the proper functioning and health of your nervous system, which controls every organ, system, gland, and muscle of your body should be considered even more important than dentistry. It rates right up there with exercising and good nutrition.

Just as you would consider eating well a lifetime endeavor, or getting regular exercise a lifetime endeavor, you should also consider receiving regular chiropractic check-ups a lifetime endeavor. In our office, we have programs especially tailored for those patients who want to make chiropractic an integral part of their healthcare. We offer a yearly "Wellness Program". We can figure out what would be a good wellness program for each individual patient.

Of course, these types of programs are not for every patient. Not everyone is ready to make a commitment to maximum health. So for those patients who prefer more short term care programs, we understand and support their decisions as well. We want to help you make the best decisions possible to maximize the care you receive in our office. For more information about our Wellness Program, call my office, and I would be happy to speak to you.

Dr. Mark's response: Chiropractic in the long run is actually very inexpensive. This is especially true when you compare it to medical and dental procedures. Consider back surgery that can cost $20,000. I have had patients who spent $1000 on chiropractic care and avoided the surgery, lost work time, rehabilitation time, and avoided time lost from activities and hobbies. How much is that worth to you? So when you compare chiropractic vs. other forms of health care, it is very inexpensive. And besides, it has the potential to bring back your vitality, health and positive outlook on life! In fact, the United States armed forces just completed a study that showed chiropractic could save the military 25 MILLION dollars in expenses by making it available to all members of the military. Chiropractic will be phased into the armed forces health care system.

Our fees are very reasonable. I have no problem telling people our fees up-front. I'm proud that we can offer such an incredible service at a very affordable fee. How much is restoring life to a human being worth? Our initial assessment fee is $150.00, which includes an x-ray series of the area of complaint (if needed). Each visit afterwards varies depending on the course of care determined to be appropriate.  We also offer a variety of payment programs to best suit your financial needs. Our goal is to offer our patients excellent chiropractic care at a very reasonable fee. So, feel free to discus any and all financial concerns with our office staff and they will either answer your questions or research and find the answer for you.

Dr. Mark's response: The goal of our office is to allow you to receive the best care possible as easily as possible. One of the ways we do this is by filing insurance claims for our patients that qualify for chiropractic re-imbursement. We have a trained staff that will qualify your chiropractic insurance benefits for you as a courtesy. Usually, there is a deductible or a co-payment that you are responsible for. This will be determined and disclosed when your insurance is pre-qualified. So when you come in for your initial consultation/exam please remember to bring your insurance card/information with you.

Dr. Mark's response: Actually, we used to be members of an organization called American Specialties Health Plans that contracted to all the major HMO programs. At the time we thought it would be a good idea to reach out to a larger segment of the population. After participation in the program we realized we had made a HUGE mistake. We began realizing that the HMOs would only allow limited visit coverage for our patients as well as little to none for children and infants. We were not being paid for any of our young patients!

HMOs do not recognize the vital importance of regular chiropractic care for adults let alone children. The second reason was that the amount of paperwork involved was horrendous and it began taking our focus off patient care and onto paperwork. We saw that this was really affecting the energy we could provide to our patients. Thirdly, all HMOs have a "Case Manager" that oversees your case (thus the chiropractor looses control of your health care).

In many cases, what I knew the patient's need would be cut down because some case manager 500 miles away did not think the amount of care was warranted. This case manager was making treatment recommendations on our patients without even seeing them. We refuse to allow an insurance company to determine the health care that our patients need. HMO chiropractic practices are stuck in the "back-pain" mode. That is not our focus. We focus on health enhancement and optimum performance. Being involved in the HMO was a big contradiction that had to be ended.

Dr. Mark's response: Many fear tactics have been used over the years to prevent people from going to chiropractors. About 13 years ago, chiropractors won a major lawsuit against the medical profession for attempting to prevent people from going to chiropractors and to, in essence, bring the chiropractic profession to its knees.

Our profession prevailed, as it always does, and the medical profession was actually brought to its knees! But our victory just kindled the fire and unto this day, there are medically backed organizations that are attempting to thwart chiropractic's tremendous role in the health care arena. So many of the things you hear about stem from groups like this that want to make people afraid to go to chiropractors.

In actuality, chiropractic is incredibly safe. When was the last time you saw in the newspaper about someone getting injured from a chiropractic adjustment? It is very rare. On the other hand, when was the last time you or a family member or someone you know was injured from something the medical profession did (i.e. a drug reaction, failed surgical procedure, or medically negligent act)? Did you know that drug reactions and medical negligence are the fourth leading cause of death in this country? The U.S. Congress at this moment is investigating these startling statistics. So when you ask about safety issues, you have to compare professions.

Dr. Mark uses very gentle hands-on care for his patients. Dr. Mark specializes in a variety of techniques that are gentle and safe. We pride ourselves on our loving, gentle care we offer our family of patients.

So if these concerns are a major factor that has prevented you from coming to our office, then we invite you to come visit our practice and talk with our patients. They will be the first to tell you that what we do is enjoyable, instills health, and brings a better level of living to their lives. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to contact me personally.

Dr. Mark's response: Dr. Mark has mastered a number of very powerful techniques to enable the patient to regain their health. Our patients love it! Dr. Mark also offers traditional spinal hands-on adjustments for those patients who enjoy the more traditional methods as well as low force techniques for those that prefer, or need, a more gentle touch. Dr. Mark specializes in traditional chiropractic hands-on spinal adjusting, and gentle care for children.

Dr. Mark offers many techniques because every patient who walks through our doors is unique. He is not going to use the same technique on a 75-year-old osteoporotic woman that he would use on a 21-year-old triathlete. We adapt to our patient's special needs. For example, some of our patients have had bad experiences with chiropractors that have adjusted them too forcefully. For those patients, he would use gentle force methods of care. Then again, we have patients who have been to chiropractors who used non-force methods and the patients felt like it did not work as well as a traditional adjustment. For these patients, he'll try traditional adjustments and find out what works best to allow them to reach their health needs.

So it is not so much what technique you use, because all chiropractic techniques work, but it is the doctor who provides the technique to the patient. When Dr. Mark adjusts your spine, not only is there the physical aspect of the adjustment, but also behind each adjustment is our strong philosophy of what we do.

We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover. We do not accept ATM cards. However, we accepy HSA (Health Savings Account) bank cards as well. Of course you can also pay by cash or check.

Dr. Mark performs only light-force style spinal corrections on children. The adjustments given to children are not the same given to adults. Their spines are much more fragile and flexible, so forceful adjustments are not needed. The adjustments are very powerful at restoring neurological control, and yet are very gentle to the baby's or child's spine.

Dr. Mark specializes in very difficult cases. There is no case that is too complex or serious to begin a chiropractic care program. The true nature of chiropractic is to restore your God-given ability to heal. Our focus is to enhance your "innate intelligence." So if you have a life-threatening problem, you need chiropractic more than ever! If this applies to you, then call us RIGHT NOW! Do not wait any longer.