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Fee Schedule
Insurance and Medicare
Appointments
The Treatment Process
Counseling
Doctor Kamath's Pledge
Your Commitment
Termination Policy
Payment Policy
How to get the Best Results
Why Some Patients Do Not Do Well
Office Hours
Office Manager
Fee Schedule:
Initial evaluation (45 minutes to 1 hour) $200 (Medicare patients $150)
Brief follow up visits: (Med-check) $67 (Medicare patients $60)
30 minute office consultation: $125
45 minute office consultation: $150
Copy of records: $15 up to 10 pages
Replacement of lost prescriptions: $10
Brief telephone consultations are not charged.
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Why We Do Not Accept Insurance Or Medicare:
Dr. Kamath does not participate in any insurance plan including Medicare and Medicaid. All Medicare patients are seen on Private Client Contract basis only and neither Dr. Kamath nor the patients can submit the bills to Medicare, even if the patients' supplemental insurance insists they do so first.
Private insurance subscribers who wish to see Dr. Kamath must pay the fee at the time of office visit without exception. They will receive a super bill which they can then submit to their insurance and collect what is due to them as per their plan. We have thus eliminated unnecessary interference by the insurance companies in the treatment process.
Dr. Kamath's decision not to participate in any insurance plan (HMO, PPO, etc.) was based on his bitter experience with them over the years. He has yet to come across an insurance company which serves its subscribers and participating doctors in good faith. The whole process is a big farce, full of chicanery and deceit. The essential trust needed between the doctor and patient for good outcome was undermined by their truly deceitful rules and regulations designed to delay and deny payments.
The 'patient be damned' attitude of insurance companies is so disgusting to him that he decided not to cooperate with them. In December 1996, he resigned from all insurance companies and a year later he resigned from Medicare. In spite of this, Dr. Kamath's practice has thrived. What he discovered was that when a highly qualified doctor offers honest-to-goodness treatment to his patients, he does not have to become part of an "insurance" scam.
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Appointments:
All missed appointments will be billed as we do not overbook. Patients canceling appointments at the last minute twice in a row will be required to pay ahead of time. If you are on a medication prescribed by Dr. Kamath, you must have an appointment in our computer. “I need to cancel my appointment; I will call back later,” is not acceptable.
The Treatment Process:
The initial office visit is about 45 minutes to an hour long. In this interview the doctor will focus on your presenting symptoms, their duration and severity. He will then explore gently about your past medical as well as psychiatric history. Toward the end of the interview he will explain to you in great detail the reason for your symptoms and what treatment options are available to you.
The decision to receive treatment is entirely yours. The doctor will never attempt to induce you into treatment. Before you leave his office you will receive a free copy of his book on stress along with his office information brochure. All your questions will be answered without exception.
If you decide to receive medication treatment, you will be required to make brief office visits at certain intervals. The second visit is usually around two weeks from the first. The third visit will be around a month after the second visit. The fourth visit would be about two months after the third. The fifth visit would be around four months after the fourth. Patients who need to be on medications on a long term basis will be seen on once-every- six-months basis. The decision to stay on medications on a long term basis is solely that of clients.
Dr. Kamath always tells his clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Because of his forthrightness, Dr. Kamath has gained the reputation in this area as the guy who "tells it like it is."
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Counseling:
Clients requiring long term counseling are usually referred to other qualified counselors. However, clients who commit themselves to keeping appointments as agreed to will be seen by the doctor personally.
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Doctor Kamath's Pledge:
I offer you the best treatment consistent with my education, training and ability. My practice is based on the principles of honesty, skill and 24/7 availability.
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Your Commitment:
By deciding to receive treatment with us, you are committing to taking your medications as prescribed; keeping your appointments as required, and paying your fee at the time of office visit.
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Termination Policy:
All bad checks will be turned over to the prosecuting attorney after one week and patients will be terminated. Patients who refuse to keep their appointments as per dictates of good medical practice will be terminated.
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Payment Policy:
We do not accept any type of insurance including Medicare. All payments must be made at the time of office visit. Medicare clients will be seen on Private Client Contract basis only, and they can not submit the bill to Medicare.
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How To Get The Best Results:
In Dr. Kamath's practice, the results of treatment are the best when there is a mutually trusting and respectful working-relationship between him and the client. Patients who develop an alliance with him and follow his directions do well and get better with least amount of cost and complications. Tell the doctor the whole truth; learn well why you are sick; take the treatment as recommended; improve your stress-coping skills; and just get on with your life.
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Why Some Patients Do Not Do Well:
The results are uniformly poor in clients who bring into the treatment process excess baggage from their past and indulge in "acting out" behavior in the course of treatment. Acting out consist of immature behaviors such as missing appointments; quitting medication; abusing medication; mixing alcohol and drugs with the medications; threatening suicide to get attention and sympathy; not paying bills as agreed upon; lying to the doctor; not trusting the doctor; getting the doctor into unnecessary conflicts... and the like. These behaviors invariably interfere with quick recovery and result in severe stress to the doctor and will create complications in the course of treatment. Patients who indulge in such behaviors should seek help with other doctors or agencies who have more time and inclination to play these kinds of games with them.
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Office Hours:
Monday through Wednesday: 8:00AM till 12:00PM, 1:00PM to 4:00PM, Thursday: 8:00AM till 12:00PM. For appointments call during the office hours 573-334-4002
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Office Manager:
Kim Kight joined Dr. Kamath in 1983. Kim's helpful nature, pleasant personality, friendliness and kindness to the clients have endeared her to thousands of his clients over the years.
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