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The One Hour Vacation

It’s time for a tune up!

 

In Chinese Medicine, we acknowledge that Summer brings the gifts of laughter, partnership, and joy. This is seen by our desire to vacation with loved ones, have fun and break loose, and have more get togethers with old and new friends.  In Summer, our Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestine and San Jiao are at their peak of functioning and at their most vulnerable.  If challenged, you may notice some issues with regulating your body temperature or fluids- hello edema! Swollen ankles, anyone?  If this is an issue for you, you can add 2 handfuls of watermelon to your diet daily or try Job’s Tears… and don’t forget your regular acupuncture treatment.

Late Summer brings the gift of harvest time, all of our hard work is paying off and especially for farmers and gardeners we can see the ripe fruit and vegetables in abundance to eat. We get a feeling of “life is good and easy” because there is plenty of food and a general sense of putting our feet up to relax. The gifts of Late Summer are empathy, sympathy, mothering oneself/tending to oneself versus how we take care of others. There is a lot of digesting life, making life a part of us- the way we go on vacation to a new land, consume the culture, the food, the energy of a beautiful and interesting place as we try to take it back home with us as part of our new life experience. In Late Summer, our Stomach and Spleen are at their peak of functioning and at their most vulnerable. If this is a difficult time for your body, you may notice more loose stools or irregular digestion, stomach bloating or cramps, or gas. Try fresh mint in your diet, add to smoothies or salads, or as a cup of tea.

If you’re finding Summer or Late Summer a difficult time, emotional or physically, don’t suffer alone. It’s time for a tune up. Schedule your appointment with one of our wonderful acupuncturists, available in White Marsh or Timonium, Monday thru Saturday as early as 7am, as late as 7pm.

 

Acupuncture is the perfect one hour vacation, with benefit to your mind and body.

 

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Seven Ways to Set and Achieve Your Goals

No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, setting goals is one way to help you get there. Often, when people have no goals, they lack motivation, focus and direction.  Setting goals also provides a benchmark to determine whether or not you are succeeding. But how do you set goals if you’ve never done so before? Or what if you have set goals in the past, but you didn’t achieve them? Do you just give up and tell yourself that goal setting doesn’t work? That’s one option, but let’s put things into perspective. continue reading »

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Will My Insurance Cover Acupuncture?

Since acupuncture is considered alternative medicine and non-drug therapy, you may have questions about whether your insurance policy will cover such a method of treatment. It’s known as an effective form of treatment for various conditions, including chronic pain, migraines, fertility, and even weight loss. Therefore, many people seeking relief in these areas are willing to give acupuncture a go. Still, there could be more clarity when it comes to insurance coverage.

insurance coverage acupuncture

How Much is Acupuncture without Insurance?

There are a lot of variables in the cost of acupuncture, with and without insurance. The fees at each acupuncture clinic will range, depending on the service you’re receiving and other factors. Typically, the range is about $50 and up to $150. Cigna, Humana, Aetna, United Health Care, Landmark, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield are insurance companies that will sometimes cover acupuncture.

Insurance Coverage at Cloud 9

Although most people don’t, some will require a referral from your primary care physician depending on your individual insurance policy. The amount of the co-pay will vary, starting at $0 and including $15, $20, $30, or $40. Acupuncture is not always a covered benefit under every insurance policy. However, patients are often surprised to find out their plan does cover acupuncture as an additional wellness benefit.

Depending on your individual insurance policy, some patients will be required to pay an annual deductible. Occasionally, an individual insurance policy will waive the deductible for acupuncture services. Out of network patients pay full price and seek direct reimbursement payment from their insurance company. We are approved participating providers in network with all forms of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna, Johns Hopkins EHP, and Aetna insurances.

How to Review Your Insurance Policy

The Cloud 9 team is here to help answer any questions about insurance coverage. In addition, we encourage our patients to verify their acupuncture benefit coverage under their individual insurance policy and we’ll help you understand the fine print and what it all means for your treatment. Cloud 9’s biller will outline the following:

  • Whether or not acupuncture is a covered benefit under your current individual insurance policy, and if there are any exclusions to this acupuncture coverage in the fine print.
  • Co-pay or Co-insurance expected payment at the time of service.
  • Deductible, whether or not it’s been met and if not, how much of the yearly deductible remains, or if the deductible is waived for acupuncture services. Usually, once the deductible has been met, the patient is only responsible for the co-pay and/or the co-insurance payment each visit.
  • Whether pre-authorization is needed prior to initial treatment.
  • Approved number of visits per year, and the beginning of the year for this individual policy.

To verify acupuncture insurance benefits before your session, please give us a call at 443-521-3583 or email the following info to: acupunctureByLaura@gmail.com:

  • Which insurance company your policy is with (We are an approved provider with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Johns Hopkins EHP, and Aetna).
  • Your full name and Date of Birth, and the Primary policy holder’s full name and Date of Birth (if not you).
  • The Insurance Member ID # on the front of the insurance card.
  • Provider Tel. # on the back of the card.

If you do not have insurance, we take Health Savings Accounts, Medical Flex Spending, Visa, MC, Discover, personal checks and cash.

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4 Tips for an Energizing, Joyful Summer

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each season is associated with one of the elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Perhaps unsurprisingly, summertime is associated with the element fire. Fire represents maximum activity. In nature, everything is at its peak growth during the summer, so TCM sees our energy as its most active and exuberant. Summer is the time of year with the most yang energy, which is all about excitement and assertiveness. continue reading »

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Healthy Eating from Early to Late Summer

Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM is all about balance. In this ancient system, the key to health is to move through the world in such a way that our bodies can remain in homeostasis, in balance. This idea connects to sleep patterns, what we eat and ultimately the flow of Qi, or energy, throughout the body. For that reason, healthy eating in summertime, according to TCM, is all about using cooling foods to balance out how hot it is outside. In other words, we can find homeostasis from the inside out. continue reading »

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