General Questions

: How much is care going to cost?
We liken this to asking a mechanic "my car's making a weird noise - how much is it going to be to fix it?" Your mechanic isn't going to know without checking it out (maybe they have an idea, but that idea might prove to be wrong...). They typically charge a diagnostic fee to check it out and let you know.
Similarly, we also won't know how much your care is going to cost without checking you out. There isn't really one "average" cost for care as several factors are considered: how long you've had your condition, how complicated your case is, what testing we need to evaluate your case, what therapies would benefit you, how well you will follow your plan, etc.
Our consultation/exam fees can vary by the services provided or our special offers. Please call the office at 515-897-7900 for our current pricing for your condition.
We can give you a much better idea of your anticipated cost of your care program after consultation and examination.

Q: Do you accept my insurance?
We are not a participating provider for federal programs such as Medicare or Medicaid and are not associated with any insurance groups. That way insurance can't dictate your care, as can happen with conventional approaches. Your diagnosis drives your treatment in the insurance model. Have diabetes - take these meds.... Have neuropathy - take these meds.... If that model of care was working for you, you honestly probably wouldn't be here looking for another way.

All services are paid in full at the time of service. Cash, credit cards, HSAs, Flex Spending Accounts accepted.

We do see patients on fixed incomes and tight budgets. Where there's a will, there's a way. We have some financing options that can make care fit most budgets.

For functional medicine lab testing, you will need to call your insurance company and ask if they cover blood tests and other services ordered by a Chiropractor. Be sure to document the date and time and the person you spoke with. Often times, the expanded testing we do to get to the ROOT of the problem may be considered "investigational" by your insurance company and would likely not be covered [...if we didn't "investigate" what's going on, what good can we be?]

With the exception of federal programs, a SuperBill can be made upon request for you to file with your insurance if your insurance company says they will reimburse you.

Q: How long until we see results?
Results vary by each person. Some people feel dramatic improvement within the first month, others may take a bit longer. There should be definite, objective improvement within the first 2 months if what we are doing and recommend for you is going to work. Remember, your body didn’t fail overnight. Years of stress and illness takes its toll and it takes a proper amount of time to restore. If you can give us 2 months and you really work and do what is needed, it is HIGHLY unusual that progress/improvement is not seen. Then the goal is to keep you improving on a consistent basis. 
Give us 2 months to show you results, but realize that most cases will need 6-12 months or more to fully be addressed.

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Q: What is your take on clinical holistic nutrition, or what some now call "functional medicine?"
Our clinical holistic nutrition program, or functional medicine program, focuses on the optimal functioning of the entire body and its organs, rather than looking at individual symptoms. It addresses the underlying causes of disease using a systems-based approach coupled with a detailed history in which the disease manifested. Genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors all have a direct influence of long-term health and chronic health issues.
There are many lab tests out there, but we find that sticking primarily to a foundational approach still yields excellent clinical results without overspending your healthcare dollars. 

Q: How is your nutrition or functional medicine service different from others available?
Our clinical holistic nutrition program is a lab-based, natural health protocol that tests and identifies the dysfunction of the core main body systems. Typically these systems have become compromised long BEFORE the symptoms appeared. The lab tests are used to determine the required natural support needed to re-balance your body back to its normal state.
We address the most chronic symptoms of weight gain, fatigue, depression, hormone imbalances and digestive problems as well as the more challenging cases in healthcare (see case studies). Conventional medicine practitioners typically attempt to address the symptoms, not the root cause/damaged system.

Q: Do I have to purchase nutritional supplements through your office?
For some of our neurological program patients we use a carefully selected kit of nutritional support for that particular condition. It would be hard to replicate this outside of the kit.

For the custom nutritional plan based upon your lab work:
Of course not! Our job is to make sure that what you are doing is working. The supplements we recommend in our office are the products that we have experience with and have been shown to make the changes in the blood work we would like to see. Sometimes you can get these same supplements in a health food store or online but you may find they are cheaper through our resources at Iowa Functional Health. If you purchase other supplements from other manufacturers, please research carefully. Not all ingredients are equal. Be sure to meticulously check the dosage when comparing prices.
You can use the supplements of your choosing but make sure you are getting the correct dosage and most importantly, get re-tested to make sure the supplements are working for you.

A side benefit of ordering your support from our resources is that we can help keep you ACCOUNTABLE by tracking your orders. Sometimes patients report they are doing "everything right" but, by looking at the order history, sometimes that is proven otherwise. (For example, a 90 ct bottle of a nutrient taken 2 times per day would run out in 45 days. If you only order 1 bottle in 3 months, something doesn't quite add up.)   :)