The Principals

Mori West, Owner

     Mori West first started doing chiropractic billing over 25 years ago and acupuncture billing for the last 15 years.  She has seen many changes over the years, from major changes in CPT coding to the entire revamping of the California Worker's Compensation System.  "I don't believe any office should shy away from taking Worker's Compensation Cases and I am always surprised to see offices that refuse to treat inured workers.  Sure the rules changed in California in 2005, both with  Chiropractic having the visit limitation cap, and with  ACOEM guidelines that don't favor Acupuncture for more than a couple of chronic conditions, but there are ways to make it work for both disciplines.  We will do the necessary things so that our office has the authorizations in place that guarantee payment, as well as making the Insurance Carriers follow their own rules.  I don't believe in blanket denials based on ACOEM guidelines, I feel if you show objective functional improvement, as well as current studies that explain the efficacy of treatment and the adjustor has to consider the information."

      Ms West extends this ethic to general insurance as well.  "Because we verify insurance benefits, we have the confidence that comes from knowing that a carrier HAS to pay a claim we submit.  We will go the extra mile to exhaust every avenue when one of our offices receive a denial, we won't just resubmit a claim, expecting a different result, we make the call, and follow up with a request for reconsideration. Because of this we've been quite successful when carriers quote incorrect benefits, then deny claims when submitted.  The appeals process is in place for just these types of cases, and we use that process."

     Finally as a lifelong chiropractic and acupuncture patient, Mori feels indebted to the professions.  "As the wife of a chiropractor, I have seen first hand the unique abilities chiropractor's have. I believe in what they do and I believe if a patient has insurance with chiropractic benefits, that carrier WILL pay for correctly verified claims when submitted.  I have also utilized TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) since I was 17 years old.  I am grateful to work with acupuncturists I consider true healers and am amazed that in this era when there are more and more insurance carriers with good acupuncture benefit packages, there are practitioners out there that shy away from accepting insurance, or worse yet think few insurance plans cover acupuncture."

Angie Soto, Manager

     Angie Soto has spent the last twenty years in billing and collections, the last 6 specifically handling chiropractic and acupuncture billing.  Collections are her specialty and she enjoys the telephone work associated with that end of the business.  Angie is tenacious when it comes to calling on aged accounts.  Unfailingly polite and courteous she has succeeded in securing patient payments with the accounts that offices have given up on or written off.  Even more amazing, she receives thank you calls for her efforts by the very same patients and is well liked by adjustors. Numerous times an office has said, "You'll never get this patient to pay on this old account," or "I'm not expecting that they will pay." Not only was Angie able to secure the payment, her efforts have helped reactivate a patient.  As Angie says,  "Most patient's want to pay, they need gentle reminders and need to know we will work with them. Carriers need to be shown the information as to why they should pay. That's how an office keeps a patient for life, and that why patients refer."