FAQs
Table Of Contents
General FAQs
Reference ranges that come back on standard testing, can often be misleading. How is that possible you might be asking yourself? Those lab ranges are based on a segment of the population that is already sick. Think about it, Who goes to see doctors? Healthy people or people who have something wrong with them and don’t feel well.? If you answered sick people you are exactly right! Sick people become the data from which normal values are created. All this means is that you could be sick, but just not as sick as the person dying in the hospital.
This is why so many times you can feel terrible and your general practitioner or Endocrinologist will tell you that you everything is “Normal” or everything looks great!
Our practice uses high-quality, cutting-edge functional lab tests in order to gain the most accurate information about how your body is working and to uncover the root cause of your poor health. The total cost for these tests usually range within 2,000-$4,000.
A Health Savings Account (HSA) enables you to pay for medical expenses on a tax-free or pre-taxed basis. For more information and to see if you qualify, you will need to speak with your medical insurance provider. It is also best to speak with your tax advisor to see if this option is beneficial for you. We also offer Advanced Care Card. Advanced Care Card allows patients to make Monthly payments without interest. Learn more here
The frequency of follow-ups will depend on the nature of your illness and your health challenges. These vary from person to person. This can only be determined when all recommended tests are completed and Dr Hagmeyer understands the complexity of your case. Dr. Hagmeyer finds that most people can start seeing significant improvement in their health in only 10 weeks. While these are just a general guidelines, a patients recovery is also dependent on how well they incorporate Dr Hagmeyers recommendations (diet, nutrition and lifestyle changes.) We view health recovery as a team sport – You need to do your part, so that we can do our part.
If you are a patient of Dr. Hagmeyer you will often work one one in the beginning of your program with one of his Holistic Nutritional Therapists or Health Coaches. These visits help you get dialed into what you should and shouldn’t eat. Our nutritional therapists and health coaches, will provide you with meal planning, meal recipes, meal substitutions and coaching all overseen by Dr Hagmeyer. Our Holistic Nutritional Therapists are experienced with AIP, SCD, GAPS, Paleo, Low Histamine,Keto, Low Oxalate, Gluten free and low Inflammatory foods.
Are you not sure what to eat? Bored with the same foods every day? Overwhelmed with implementing a special diet? Need help with Paleo?, Autoimmune Paleo?, Low FODMAP?, Ketogenic diet?, SCD?, Low histamine?, Gluten free?, etc?
Our Certified Functional Nutritional therapists and Health coaches will support you as you strive for optimal health with nutrition. We can help with special diets, meal ideas, recipe suggestions, ingredient substitutions, recommended products, goal setting and accountability.
Of course! We currently work with patients in over 25 different countries around the world and so we have adapted our practice to work with patients wherever they may be.
If you would like to become a patient and live outside the United States, we recommend that you provide us with the contact information of your general practitioner so that we can keep them “in the loop.”
Any standard traditional blood-testing (Thyroid, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc) required by Dr Hagmeyer can be done in a Hospital, Labcorp, Quest or your General Practitioners office.
Other tests ie (Functional tests) that require, Stool, Breath, Saliva and Urine can be done in the comfort of your own home through specialized home test kits.
These tests come with the test kit along with a prepaid Fed Ex shipping envelope. The testing that Dr Hagmeyer offers can be done anywhere!
Great question and one that is difficult to answer!
This varies from patient to patient and depends on many factors such as the problem(s) at hand, the number of areas where problems have been identified, the patients compliance to dietary changes, the compliance with taking the supplements/natural medicine, the patients level of discipline, support network at home and finally the patients attitude.
However, if a program is correct and effective, the body will be regaining its ability to heal itself right from the start. This would result in less stress on the body. If the body is less stressed, there will be symptomatic improvement in nearly every case.
We track all symptoms in each consultation, and expect to start seeing significant improvements in many areas from very early in a program.
Our experience has been that as the body continues to heal over time, most symptoms do improve or completely resolve. The Vast majority of patients 80-90% will begin to experience some improvement within 1-4 months.
We are very selective in the cases we accept. While we can not accept every case, 9 out of 10 people who consult with our practice see great improvements within a few months! Much of your progress comes down to you! Are you following our dietary plan, are you taking your nutritional support as indicated, are you cheating on our recommendations? Patients accepted into our program, will almost always see improvement. This improvement happens because we perform a very thorough review of your case prior to making any treatment recommendations.
When suffering with Chronic health problems, your doctor needs to be a good investigator. The more clues he or she understands, the greater the likelihood of solving the “health mystery”- We spend a considerable amount of time investigating to make sure we have all the “pieces” in place.
This is why our success rate is as high as it is. With that said, even if you are doing your part and we are doing our part, if you still fail to progress as expected, we may need to investigate further.
Additional testing or retesting may be required. We may, at this point, refer to other doctors to help pin-point why you are not getting better and adjust your program. Healing chronic health problems with multiple layers of physiological dysfunction takes time.
That depends on what you’re taking and how much progress you can make. Patients who Consult with Dr Hagmeyer are often able to eliminate medications or significantly reduce the amount of medication they are on. With that being said, we do not monitor drug therapy. If you are to discontinue your medication that will be done by your prescribing physician, not by Dr Hagmeyer. As a Functional Medicine Practitioner, our focus is on specific supplementation, diet and lifestyle changes. Our office does not prescribed medications.
Billing & Pricing Questions
Every patient is different. The cost of your first visit will depend on your case. High complexity and low complexity cases. The first step in becoming a patient is to have your case reviewed.
If you have never been to a Functional Medicine Practitioner or you have less than 3-5 pages of bloodwork, you would fall under a Low Complexity Case Review which is $395.
If you have more than 5 pages of bloodwork, lab reports or other testing or you have worked with a Functional Medicine Practitioner in the past, then you will need a High Complexity Case Review. High Complexity Case Review are $595 up to a total of 10 pages of testing/lab reports.
If you have more than 10 pages, please email the office for a custom quote for a review of your case along with What testing was done, When and the Names of labs.
Generally we have found that initial diagnostic testing with Dr Hagmeyer average between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on the complexity of the case.
After your Case Review, Dr Hagmeyer will review his optimal testing recommendations and how he feels your health problems should be tackled.
If you are unable to move forward with Optimal Functional Laboratory recommendations, Dr Hagmeyer will let you know if he feels he can still appropriately manage your case. In some situations it may be best to first start with one of our health coaches or Certified Nutritional Therapists.
Please note that the functional lab testing and supplements are an integral part of our process to uncover the root cause of your health problems, without these tests- we are guessing at best.
If you are searching for answers as to why you feel they way you do, we believe in testing- not Guessing.
If you are on a limited budget, there are still options available to work with Dr Hagmeyer. We encourage you to submit an email with these concerns and Dr Hagmeyer will try to do everything he can to help you. We also encourage you to check out Advanced Care Card.
Advance Care offers Interest free periods of 6 to 14 months, making financing more affordable than you might think. Advance Care offer flexible terms, low interest rates and great customer service.
Dr Hagmeyer relies on retesting to determine patients progress and if the Root cause of your problem(s) are truly being addressed.
While we want our patients to feel better, feeling better and fixing the reason WHY you have the symptoms can be two different things.
Do you want General health information that applies to everyone or do you want to dial down into the Specifics and Root Cause. If you answered “Root Cause” then you are in the right place.
Insurance & Medical Recording Questions
We do not accept any form of medical insurance Medicare or Medicaid.
Our patients pay for the testing at the time of service. Since Dr Hagmeyer does not accept insurance assignment, we do not fill out these forms for patients, write reports for insurance companies and we are not responsible for insurance reimbursements. Functional Medicine and Functional Nutrition is Not covered by insurance. However, You may also use pre-tax dollars from a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flex Spending account (FSA) to pay for your consultations and lab fees. Medicare and Medicaid (Public Aid) patients will not be able to submit their visit or testing. Dr Hagmeyer and all clinicians have opted out of Medicare and Medicaid.
Why we don’t accept Insurance
At DrHagmeyer.com we are passionate about what we do and feel that it is our calling to provide you with the highest quality functional health care possible.
We also emphatically believe that we will be saving our patients thousands of dollars of healthcare costs down the road by preventing and treating health problems implementing the principles Functional Medicine
Many of our patients have been able to come off expensive prescription medications, been able to go back to work, no longer required surgery, and staved off illness from the common cold to more chronic diseases.
While we fully understand the financial challenge not billing insurance may present to some patients, we have chosen not to for a variety of reasons.
When medical practices participate in insurance, the physicians must sign a contract that allows the insurance company to decide the type of care the doctor will provide. Insurance companies are NOT interested in preventative-wellness-Holistic Functional Medicine care, but are highly invested in the conventional model of drug based medicine.
Prescription medication and surgery are often covered charges. We, on the other hand, are committed to treating the whole person in a Functional Medicine approach.
Furthermore, physicians that are participating partners in insurance companies must accept the fees designated by them. These fees cover only the briefest of appointments (10-15 minutes tops with the doctor-if you are lucky).
Individuals who suffer with chronic health problems, need a doctor who will spend more than 10-15 minutes understanding their health history and the kinds of testing that those individuals need.
In a traditional medical setting, Physicians are forced to see as many patients as they can per hour in order to keep their offices financially sustainable. We don’t believe long-term health and the best care for the patient can be provided with these time and fee constraints. Our Care is personalized.
No. We have found that some insurance companies request additional information that is very specific and specialized to that provider. Given the large number of discrepancies between what each company requires and that time needed to meet those requests, which end up in denial, we do not assist with insurance reimbursement. Functional Medicine and Functional Nutrition are non covered services.
Medical records can only be released with your authorization. It is your responsibility to obtain previous medical records from other physicians, or health care providers that you wish for Dr Hagmeyer to review for your case review.
If you feel your medical records are pertinent to your appointment with Dr Hagmeyer, please contact your physician or other health care providers to obtain these records and make sure that you submit them with your new patient application.
We suggest your send your paperwork via “Overnight Express.” This will provide you with priority scheduling- which in turn, may save you 4-6 weeks waiting for an available appointment.