Frequently Asked Questions

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All new patients must select New Patient when booking online or call the office to make an appointment,  Before your first visit, please have your health insurance information ready, including the following:

• ID that provides name and date of birth.
• Insurance plan name (Cigna, United Health Care etc.)
• Insurance card with member number
• make sure to email us a picture of the front and back of the insurance card and photo ID at bonafideacupunc@gmail.com

Our Billing Department Will Kindly Assist You:

1. Verifying your coverage for acupuncture benefits.
2. Any Additional costs with your insurance plan. This may include the patient’s responsibility for deductible and copay, if applicable.
3. Contacting and submitting acupuncture claims to your insurance company

What If Insurance Does Not Cover For Acupuncture?

If your insurance doesn’t cover you or you have a deductible then the initial visit costs $150 which will be applied toward your deductable. If your insurance does cover you but you have a copay then you must pay that out of pocket.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of electricity and blood through the channels in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these channels, acupuncture can allow one's body to reach homeostasis

Acupuncture improves the body’s functions and promotes the natural self-healing process by stimulating specific anatomic sites known as acupuncture points, or acupoints. The most common method used to stimulate acupoints is the insertion of fine Hair like, sterile needles into the skin. Pressure, heat, or electrical stimulation may further enhance the effects. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on an ancient philosophy that describes the universe, and the body, in terms of two opposing forces called yin and yang. When these forces are in balance, the body is healthy. Energy, called “qi” (pronounced “chee”) flows along specific pathways, called channels, throughout the body. This constant flow of energy keeps the yin and yang forces balanced. However, if the flow of energy gets blocked, like water getting stuck behind a dam, the disruption can lead to pain, lack of function, or illness. Acupuncture therapy can release blocked qi in the body and stimulate function, evoking the body’s natural healing response through various physiological systems.

Modern Western Research has come to believe that the fascia is what the ancients called channels. Fascia is a  sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. This fascia is everywhere in the body. Each organ is wrapped around fascia and then that fascia is compartmentalized around more fascia. This fascia  runs from your head to your toes. So a needle in your foot has ability to effect your stomach or head. Research demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous system, endocrine and immune systems, cardiovascular system, and digestive system. By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture can help to resolve pain, and improve sleep, digestive function, and sense of well-being.

First, your acupuncturist will ask about your health history. Then, he will examine your tongue’s shape, color, and coating, feel your pulse,check your abdomen and perform some additional physical examinations depending on your individual health needs. Using these  assessment tools, the acupuncturist will be able to recommend a proper treatment plan to address your particular condition. To begin the acupuncture treatment, you lay comfortably on a treatment table while precise acupoints are stimulated on various areas of your body.

Being Prepared:

We would like you to wear loose clothing. This is so its easier for us to treat you. Wearing loose clothing makes it more flexible for us to treat you properly. We would be able to put the needles more easily and your pants wouldn’t be taking them out.

The frequency and number of treatments differ from person to person. Some people experience dramatic relief in the first treatment. For complex or long-standing chronic conditions, one to two treatments per week for several months may be recommended. For acute problems, usually fewer visits are required. An individualized treatment plan that includes the expected number of treatments will be discussed during your initial visit.