Maximizing Your Practice with Medical Lien Finance
FINANCE INTERVIEW
Featuring Chiro Capital’s Rob Kraus
TAC
WITH THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY TODAY’S GLOBAL ECONOMY AND MODERN HEALTHCARE REFORM, MANY CHIROPRACTORS HAVE EXPANDED THEIR PRACTICES IN RECENT YEARS BY WORKING WITH PERSONAL INJURY PATIENTS ON A LIEN BASIS. TODAY, WE’LL TALK TO ROB KRAUS, CO-FOUNDER OF CHIRO CAPITAL, A MEDICAL LIEN FINANCE COMPANY BASED JUST OUTSIDE OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, AND EXPLORE SOME OF THE
REASONS WHY MEDICAL LIEN FINANCE IS SUCH A LUCRATIVE OPTION FOR DOCTORS TODAY.
What was your professional experience prior to Chiro Capital, and why did you decide to explore the health care industry and medical lien servicing?
I’ve been what you may call a “serial entrepreneur” the majority of my life. After college I stalled a contract nursing company called Nurses Rx, in which we put nurses on shortterm contracts all over the United States. I did that for 12 years and sold it to a company who wanted to pay me too much for it.
After that, for some unknown reason, I found myself as the owner of Longhorn Transportation out of Houston, Texas. We did consolidated “hot shot” airfreight warehousing and distribution. We also had a successful brokerage division as well. After 5 years I realized that I hated the tracking business, so I sold it and moved on.
After a short consulting gig in Charleston, South Carolina (one of the greatest cites in the states), I took a 6-month sabbatical to regroup. In that time, I realized that not working and doing carpool was a bad dream, so I began to seek out new ventures. What I found was Global Financial, a company that provides cash advances to personal injury patients who have pending lawsuits.
In 2008, Global Financial was only six years old, and at the time, it seemed like a great opportunity to help a young company grow. So in September of2008,1 bought into the company. As it turns out, Global Financial was an even better opportunity than I expected, and I enjoyed the gratification of helping personal
injury patients when they needed help the most.
What led to the evolution of Chiro Capital?
Our sister company at Global Financial, a company called MedChex, pays for MRIS for patients involved in a pending lawsuit who don’t have health insurance. We provided that service on a lien basis through Global Financial’s extensive attorney Network. One of our biggest law firms in Tulsa, Oklahoma suggested that we contact a chiropractor in his market because he had just opened a second clinic, and needed working capital to help expand his practice. We reached out to the Tulsa doctor, negotiated a deal to buy his bills, and took assignment of them moving forward. Both the doctor and attorney now know that they were truly the foundation of what is now Chiro Capital.
What did you know about Chiropractic before starting Chiro Capital?
Before we started Chiro Capital, I knew next to nothing about Chiropractic. And to tell you the truth, I had no idea that doctors provided care on a lien basis in the personal injury market until I started at Global.
"We are solely focused on servicing receivables, in order to help doctors reduce their overhead and maximize revenue."
Has you or anyone you personally know benefited from chiropractic treatment?
Absolutely. Once, I tweaked my back while on vacation, so I scheduled an appointment with a local chiropractor that really helped me get back on my feet. I have to admit, the first time they cracked my neck I was totally freaked out and thought I’d never walk again, but the result was quite the opposite. I was 100% relieved of my pain. Since then, I’ve been a true believer in chiropractic, and it’s the first thing I recommend for friends, family, and colleagues when they’re going through some back pain.
In fact, hundreds of friends and clients we work with on a daily basis have told us about their satisfaction with chiropractic treatment. Getting old really is for the birds, and to tell you the truth, I still think and sometimes act like I’m still in my 20’s. So whenever I tweak something, I go off for some treatment to get me back on my feet.
Can you explain exactly what a medical lien finance company does?
Sure. Because of the long-term nature of working with personal injury patients, many doctors find themselves with an outdated portfolio of receivables. While no two medical lien finance companies aie the same, a medical lien finance company will purchase those receivables from the doctor, and work with the claims adjuster and the attorney to make sure that the medical provider bills are paid. Doctors aie in the business of taking care of patients, and they shouldn’t have to waste their time and resources tracking their liens and chasing bad attorneys in order to get paid. That’s where we come in. We are not a billing company.
What are some of the advantages that you’ve seen for your clients when using medical lien finance?
We’ve worked with thousands of health care providers over the years, and the one thing we hear the most from these doctors is that it just makes much more financial sense to them to sell their receivables. When they factor in the time they have to wait in order to get paid, the overhead costs of a billing company, the reduction rate, the cost of their staff, and the loss rate when a case falls through, selling their receivables is a no-brainer. And with the surge in wellness programs and non-invasive lipo over the past few years, selling receivables is a much more financially sound way to pay for new equipment, rather than taking out a bank loan.
If Chiro Capital isn’t a billing company, then what are some of the key differences between Chiro Capital and a billing company?
To put it simply, a billing company deals with all aspects of a doctor’s office, from insurance to private pay and collections. We are solely focused on servicing receivables, in order to help doctors reduce their overhead and maximize revenue. Since we’re solely focused on lien servicing, our collection rate of return is much more efficient. And unlike billing companies, we help doctors expand their practice by connecting them with the very best personal injury attorneys in their region.
How do doctors normally find more personal injury patients?
I can’t answer for all doctors, but the doctors we work with who have the most successful practices typically have a referral network of personal injury attorneys and/or MD’s in their area. Chiropractors who are well established in a given area generally have more leverage than newer practices when it comes to establishing a referral relationship with MD’s and attorneys. So for newer practices, setting up a referral network can take time when you go it alone.
How did you develop Chiro Capital’s attorney network?
In a nutshell, time, patience, and a ton of networking with Global Financial’s existing attorney network helped Chiro Capital develop the vast attorney network we have today. Global Financial has over 80,000 attorneys in its database. Over the 13-year history of the company we have settled over 55,000 cases to date and currently have over 25,000 active cases pending though our nationwide database of attorneys. We have developed a proprietary ranking system over our 13-year existence that shows past performance on won loss records, average reduction, and overall ROT With this information, we’re able to match up doctors with the most successful attorneys in their region.
How many cases has Chiro Capital settled in the past two years?
In the past 2 years Chiro Capital has successfully resolved more than 9500 cases, and we don’t see this slowing down. Thanks to our streamlined process and ability to provide quick access to capital, we’ve experienced double-digit growth rates.
Chiro Capital prides itself on being able to look at evaluate your PI portfolio and put cash in your pocket in as little as 24 hours. Typically it takes 48-72, but we can crank it out if need be.
What are some of the benefits of working with personal injury patients on a lien basis?
Well, figuring that there aie about 3 million personal injury accidents in the U.S every year, that’s a substantial amount of people who need care. In today’s business environment, with rising healthcare costs and reduced reimbursements, it’s imperative that doctors explore all possible revenue streams, especially personal injury. By working with personal injury patients on a lien basis, doctors can tap into that 3 million and fill time slots otherwise left empty. And working on a lien basis has a ripple effect, especially if you show that you’re a doctor who the attorney can trust. If you can provide expert testimony and provide superior patient care, you better believe that you’ll be that attorney’s go-to-doctor for personal injury cases.
What kind of growth do you foresee for D.C.’s in the future of Chiropractic and Personal Injury?
The opportunity for growth is exponential. Thousands of accidents occur on a daily basis across the U.S., and the victims need chiropractor care. We have seen a tremendous growth in our business over the past 2 years as doctors have realized that outsourcing the receivables collections process to us is a more cost effective and efficient way to do business.
What are some of your company's future goals?
Absolutely. Once, I tweaked my back while on vacation, so I scheduled an appointment with a local chiropractor that really helped me get back on my feet. I have to admit, the first time they cracked my neck I was totally freaked out and thought I’d never walk again, but the result was quite the opposite. I was 100% relieved of my pain. Since then, I’ve been a true believer in chiropractic, and it’s the first thing I recommend for friends, family, and colleagues when they’re going through some back pain.
In fact, hundreds of friends and clients we work with on a daily basis have told us about their satisfaction with chiropractic treatment. Getting old really is for the birds, and to tell you the truth, I still think and sometimes act like I’m still in my 20’s. So whenever I tweak something, I go off for some treatment to get me back on my feet.
Rob Kraus established Chiro Capital in 2008 as a M’ay to provide needed cash flow to chiropractic facilities. In addition to Chiro Capital, he also senses as Owner President of its sister companies; Global Financial Credit, MedChex and Alliance Legal Solutions. He is a graduate of Tulane University and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.
