ONTARIO — Chiropractor Brian Ballitch often runs into health insurance barriers that he said prevent him from giving a patient the best possible care.
“Some insurance plans will say you get 12 adjustments a year regardless of what someone might need,” Ballitch said. “A lot of times, people’s deductibles are so high, they’re paying out of pocket anyway.”
Ballitch said he was intrigued when a childhood friend and marketing businessman Andy Kissinger wanted to start a subscription-based chiropractic center. Ballitch, Kissinger and owner of Sazdanoff Chiropractic Jeff Zaika will be co-owners of F.I.T. Chiropractic on August Drive in Ontario.
Kissinger said he has previous experience in buying and growing audiology businesses and wanted to move that knowledge over into chiropractic care.
“We want to be able to offer premium level care, but not necessarily have the price tag that’s typically associated with it,” Kissinger said. “Nobody in the area is doing it this way, so I think this will attract or at least interest a lot of people.”
F.I.T. Chiropractic stands for functional, intelligent, transforming care. Kissinger said the office will offer four different levels of subscriptions ranging from $49 per month to $139 per month. F.I.T. Chiropractic will bill subscribers automatically each month, but Kissinger said patients can cancel their plans early.
“We would have something like a termination fee for costs of X-rays, but it won’t be a headache to cancel before a year is up,” he said.
Starting Feb. 2, Kissinger said the chiropractic center will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. By May, Kissinger said he hopes the center will be open six days a week.
The doctor on staff will be Kevin Snyder and the massage therapist will be Marilu Holmes. The office, located at 2012 August Drive, will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Interested subscribers can pick a plan and book appointments online at fitchiropracticohio.com. Kissinger said the first 250 subscribers at any plan level will only be billed $1 for their first month of care.
“We’re willing to front that cost because we want to make this accessible to people and help them see what we have to offer,” he said.
Kissinger said all three co-owners wanted to invest in state-of the-art equipment at F.I.T. Chiropractic to streamline care and offer multiple treatments in-house. The office will have digital X-rays, decompression tables, traction tables and dry needling. Kissinger said patients are welcome to try any treatments with advice from their doctors.
“A lot of times in chiropractic care, I think people come in because they have a problem,” he said. “Well, part of this model is fixing the problem and offering maintenance, which is equally important as solving the problem, because otherwise it will probably just happen again.”
Kissinger said subscribers are welcome to change their subscription packages based on what is best for them. The top three subscription packages offer varying levels of house credits that can be used toward different treatments. Add-on credits will cost about $25 each.
Maintenance Package ($29 per month) — 1 Adjustment with electrical stimulation
Plus Package ($49 per month) — 2 Adjustments with electrical stimulation
Advantage Package ($79 per month) — 3 Adjustments with electrical stimulation +1 Boutique Credit
Signature Plan ($99 per month) — 4 Adjustments with electrical stimulation +2 Boutique Credits, X-Ray Included
Premier Plan ($139 per month) — 6 Adjustments with electrical stimulation +4 Boutique Credits, X-Ray Included
Kissinger noted patients can pay for their subscriptions and treatments through health savings accounts, but F.I.T. Chiropractic will not take any insurance.
Ballitch said, depending on the success of F.I.T. Chiropractic, the co-owners may be able to expand into a franchise.
“We want to give people the best standard of care at an affordable price for most people,” Ballitch said. “If you maintain your health for a very low cost, you can potentially avoid needing a hip replacement, or you don’t have to go to the ER and can get holistic care all at one stop.”
