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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI am fed up with conventional doctors and have been seeking information about naturopathic doctors. I found a naturopath about an hour away from me but my insurance of course will not cover this type of practicing medicine :-( Her fees are $140 for the first visit and go down a bit after the first consult. I am just wondering if these fees are similar to what others are paying? I often hear of others on goneraw talking about their naturopaths – I just don’t know how I am going to be able to swing this kind of money for my much needed healthcare. The sad thing is I only have to pay $5 a visit to see my regular M.D. and my husband has to pay a deductible out of his check every week – and it’s not the type of doctor I want to see! UGH !! :(
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Hmm, well I go to a naturopathic school and my insurance pays. It is much cheaper than $140, it’s about $80 and they have a sliding scale.
Someone mentioned a naturopathic MD (someone who has both). Or find a doctor who is open to alternative treatment.
Find a person who has a sliding scale fee and work out a payment plan. See them for an initial visit knowing you can only come once or twice.
wow I would be dead now if i had to pay those prices.
My holistic lady is 25 dollars an office visit and then any suppliments I need which some I get wholesale. and she never charges me for phone calls. we talk all the time on the phone. she calls and checks up on me and makes changes to my schedule and answers questions. I had a cow when the colonics went from 50 to 75 dollars I think I will count my blessings and stop complaining. I have nothing to complain about with her. she has been great.
I paid about $140 for my first visit with my naturopath (I think—this was about 5 yrs. ago). I felt it was worth it. The visit was over two hours long. We talked about everything. I received a kind of care that I had never experienced before with an MD. I left with herbs and flower essences and homeopathic remedies that were free.
After that it was on a sliding scale. Basically she would ask me how much I could afford to pay that day. Sometimes it was $30 and sometimes I would pay around $50.
I would definitely recommend giving it a try.
My insurance has the option of adding complimentary care for something like $3 a month. This covers naturopaths, chiropractors and nutritionists with the same $20 as traditional doctors. I think there is a cap on what they’ll cover a year and it is lower than I’d like, but it does allow for a few visits a year, which is about all I’d really use.
You might also call your insurance and see if they have any naturopathic doctors that are covered under your regular health plan.
I went on the website of my insurance and was able to see naturopaths that would be covered. BUT I still had to pay the copay, full price for supplements, and almost $200 in lab fees my first visit :( I would definitely ask when you make the appointment if they plan on analyzing your blood and if you will be responsible to pay for it.
iheartveggies: One alternative is to see if your regular doctor is willing to run the blood tests that the naturopath orders. I believe, on occasion, this can get around insurance not covering.
Truthfully, I talk to people in online forums. I tell them my symptoms, they send me links to pages talking about the recommended aid, what they can do for me and where I can find them. I can’t afford to see a doctor unless I’m dying, pretty much. Go college kid!
wow thanks Kandace, that never even occured to me but it makes great sense. Next time I will be sure to try it, good advice for sure!
If no insurance will cover the cost you can always learn things on your own. I for example follow principles of Natural Hygiene. Once you understand the nature of disease you can become your own personal doctor, at least for all minor things that come by from time to time. Once I read that you are the best doctor your body will ever have, if you take ownership of your body you’ll be amazed at the things you can do. I was fed up like yourself about conventional medicine and doctors, have had little health issue since the age of 3 and I have never met a doctor that I can truly say HELPed me! Best of luck to you!
PS I have no private coverage as in Canada we have universal healthcare.
I use a naturapath that costs several hundred dollars to do a full analysis…but whilst this might shock you, she is like a professor compared with a general practitioner. Her analysis covers EVERYTHING and the aim is to fix the problems and change the lifestyle and diet so the people don’t need to come back (she promotes a raw food diet) We don’t have private health insurance and have had myself, hubby and our two kids analysis done and haven’t regretted it at all. But health insurance and hospital services are different in Australia, we never have to pay for anything medical (standard western) even without insurance. Some of the private health insurance companies cover naturopaths but we have never had insurance and never plan to, so we just pay for it when we need it…which isn’t very often as I am studying naturopathy now so I can mostly fix a lot of problems myself now.
Cares :-)
hmm… i just found out that my group health insurance covers acupunture amongst other things… If you have an understanding GP, maybe they could give you a referral?
thanks everybody for the advice. My insurance will not cover any “alternative health” at all. I do my best to study what I can online but I’d like to have a doctor who is familiar with my ongoing symptoms ( which mimic an auto-immune disease) ..
Blue_Eyes: where did you find this holistic lady? So she is not a naturopath? (wondering if I can still keep searching for a less expensive alternative)..
Hey Alex, I am a holistic practitioner and work with different modalities including natural remedies. If I can be of any help, please let me know. And I mean helping without putting a price tag on everything, so dont be shy to ask :) Yes, I got to make some money too, but first and foremost we are here to help each other on our way through life :) Love
beate64: I wanted to thank you & also tell you that I just sent you a long email at the address you provided & I got a return error back? freehorse AT yahoodotcom is correct right? I hope to hear from you soon
artzyfartzy I was actually trying to find someone that did colonics and stumbled into them. The lady that was doing the colonics did holistic and she helped me alot and then she had to go away for a while and left me a number of another lady in case I needed anything. That other lady (well both actually) turned out to be an angel, she has helped me so much. I never thought I would be well again. I still see them both, together they make great medicine. They are both RN’s and have been around for a long time. One was married to a chiroprator and the other came to work for them and they stuck together after his passing.
sh… sorry artzyfartzy my mistake… looking forward to hearing from you, really :)) it is: freehorse64ATyahooDOTcom I forgot to put the 64 in there, my birth year ;)) sorry about that!
What type of insurance do you have? I have had 3 different ones in the last 2 years(changed jobs then then switched insurance) but all of them have covered my current naturopath. I am SO happy about this because I’ve only been seeing her about 2 years and she has helped me more than most of my other Dr’s.
Not all naturopaths are covered the same I have found, ones that were in their own business or a health wellness center I found not covered as well as the ones that were simply straight out naturopathic Dr(if that makes sense).
OH, another thought…do you have any good natural food/health stores near you? The one near my school is how I found my naturopath and she(her partner plus other Dr’s) do afternoon free visits once a week at the store.
artzyfartzy, I hope it works out with the e-mail… but you can always send me a message through my website and I get back to you then… Sorry again about forgetting the 64 in my e-mail… should work though now…
Looking forward to hearing from you :))
blueyz I have Anthem insurance. I called & asked and they said no alternative medicine is covered..including naturopathy, accupuncture, massage therapy, etc etc :(
yes, I do have a good health food store that I frequent. Doh! I should ask the supplement specialist there if she knows any other sources – I dunno why I didn’t think of that! thank you
beate64 I just resent the email to you :):)
A relative of mine wants to be a naturopathic doctor. She wants to know what the life of a naturopathic doctor looks like, hopefully with some specifics, such as:
1. What exactly is your job, and what do you do on a day-to-day basis?
2. What is your annual salary? The Canadian salary for naturopathic doctor seems to be an average of $70,000 a year, but can this fluctuate and what causes fluctuations?
3. What is the difference between medical school and naturopathic school? An MD vs. ND?
4. How do you determine how much to charge customers, and on what basis?
We know that a naturopathic doctor will prescribe natural solutions rather than allopathic ones, but a few more details would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help~