08/05/2026
Transitioning my practice to an independent, direct-pay model was not a decision I took lightly.
The unfortunate truth is that the U.S. healthcare system financially incentivizes big fusion surgeries over outpatient, ultra-minimally invasive decompressions. As practice costs rise while payments for smaller procedures decline, there comes a point where maintaining a focus on endoscopic techniques becomes unsustainable in the traditional system.
Faced with that reality, I realized I had one of three options:
1๏ธโฃ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ rather than endoscopic procedures, despite the clear patient-centered advantages of less invasive care.
2๏ธโฃ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฒ and see an extremely high volume of them just to make the math work.
3๏ธโฃ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ and craft a practice dedicated to providing patients with minimally invasive solutions and the attention they deserve.
I am unwilling to compromise on the quality of care I provide, so I chose option #3.
I built this practice to protect the doctor-patient relationship, maintain clinical integrity and ensure I can always focus on what is best for the person in front of me. My success is no longer measured by how long my waitlist is; it is measured by how quickly and seamlessly patients get answers and relief.
While we do not accept insurance for consultations or my surgical fees, patients can still use their existing insurance to cover related costs, such as facility fees, anesthesia and imaging.
๐ I sat down with ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐๐งโ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ to dive deeper into why I made this switch. Read the full feature here: https://www.beckersspine.com/spine/why-spine-surgeons-are-walking-away-from-insurance/
