Author: Ann Zimmerman

Almost everyone agrees that health insurance companies are not looking out for their customers or providers.  It has become increasingly clear that the traditional insurance model is no longer conducive to providing the personalized, high-quality care we strive to deliver.

For 22 years, administrative demands and limitations imposed by insurance companies have dictated how we have run our practice. We have accepted 20-30% less compensation per treatment than our cash rate.  We have also managed the high overhead of a full-time biller and typically waited an additional 5 weeks to get paid after the time of service, assuming they pay at all. As insurance companies raise their rates and implement more AI robots to run their business it has made it almost impossible to navigate the overhead of this broken system while offering the depth of care we are dedicated to. So it is with great concern for our patients and our longevity as providers that we are making this transition to a cash-based practice model. 

By moving away from these constraints, we are reclaiming the ability to focus entirely on your health goals rather than charting and billing for codes that your insurance will cover. As you each know you receive more than acupuncture for pain at Middleway. We have always offered more than the insurance companies pay us for because we believe in holistic care and you are much more than an insurance code.

This is why we offer what we do:

• 22 years of experience in the practice of Chinese medicine, trained at the #1 school in the country
• Over 50,000 acupuncture treatments given. WOW!!
• Personalized attention and adaptation to your needs
• A beautiful and healthy clinic setting
• Compassionate listening and inquiry
• Customized herbal medicine with an onsite dispensary
• Herbalist with 22 years of experience prescribing and creating herbal formulas
• Lifestyle guidance and coaching
• Nutritional support
• Mindfulness guidance 
• Spiritual mentoring
• Support with integrating trauma and emotional and spiritual wounds
• Five Element Acupuncture
• Bodywork
• Energy work/clearing
• Intention setting
• Supplement support

We invite you to consider the cost of your wellness? 

What do you have without your health? 

What kind of businesses and people do you want your money supporting….local family businesses or big insurance corporations?

For Out-of-Network Reimbursement: Upon request, we can provide you with a “Superbill”—a detailed receipt that you can submit to your insurance company for potential out-of-network reimbursement. 

By Clark Zimmerman, MAc.OM.

This weekend my daughter and I strolled through Lithia park during a lunch date. It was an especially cold day; as we walked past the lower duck pond, we noticed that it was encased with a thick layer of ice. My daughter was instantly pulled over to the frozen water. When we arrived to the shore, we noticed a plentiful smattering of debris, mostly sticks and small tree limbs, covering the ice. At first I imagined that the wind had knocked these off of the surrounding trees and blanketed the frozen pond. On closer observation however, I noticed some logs and large rocks mixed in with the sticks. I figured out that most of the debris was actually unsuccessful attempts at breaking the ice. My daughter made it her mission to reach the water underneath. She disappeared for a bit and returned with a long stick that she used to reach a rock that was on the ice just beyond her outstretched arm. She then threw the rock again and again until she finally smashed through the ice.

There is something almost magnetic about a covering of ice: Whether a lake, pond, or a roadside puddle, most children are especially tempted to try to shatter the surface.  I even find myself seduced to linger for a moment next to frozen water and see if my boot heel may be enough to break through. I suppose this is true for many people. Perhaps it is because we all know what it feels like to be frozen: Stuck in old ways, worn stories or limited possibilities.  Sometimes we mistake it for the truth. “That’s just the way it is,” we tell ourselves. This can be true of personal struggles or relationships, or with our beliefs about the world in general. We may resign ourselves to things remaining fixed in their broken state. This often comes with a large dose of resentment or grief. But something deep inside us beckons us to try to break through. Like the limbs and rocks on the duck pond, we may throw attempts at the frozen places. If the ice is too thick, our efforts can bounce off with a thud: A unfulfilling sort of violence that can leave us frustrated and defeated, and the surface littered with detritus.  Despite our sometimes fruitless efforts, part of us remains undeterred. Like my persistent daughter, the soul craves freedom. In fact freedom, open spaciousness is our natural state.  This enduring truth encourages us to find ways to remove obstacles. We stretch, we shake and we move when we are stuck in the body. We speak, we listen, and we ponder when we are stuck in the mind. We breath, we notice and we allow when we are stuck in emotion. There are so many tools to which we have access to break through the ice. When all else fails, we can can simply sink into the warmth of the heart and wait for the ice to thaw. The point is to know and trust in our natural state of freedom, and to invite in the things that can help to open up the parts that are stuck, even when it feels like a foolish endeavor.  

There was such a delightful hop of victory when my daughter finally broke through the ice. Just as the soul keeps nudging us to reach past the places where we tend to get stuck, her persistence and her desire to reach the fluid freedom of the deeper water supported her in her task.   Even if she had been unable to crack the surface, she could have rest in the knowing that eventually the sun would come out, and the warmth would thaw even the thickest layers of ice.