About direct primary care

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a straightforward concept. Your medical providers have a fiduciary obligation to look out for your best interests when it comes to healthcare. Our clinic works directly with you, and for you. DPC is not any form of insurance. In fact, we do not carry a single insurance or government contract. This means there is no "middle man" to meddle in what type of care you receive. There is no mediator between you and accessing appropriate medical care.  The way medical care should be.

With DPC, the patient pays a simple monthly membership fee. This allows our clinic to take care of fewer total patients, providing you with improved availability and ACCESS to care. Concierge clinics do this for high fees, whereas DPC is a more “blue collar” approach. There are no additional fees for accessing the clinic.  Office visits, phone or text visits have no additional charge.  No surprise bills ever show up in the mail. If lab tests or imaging tests are desired, the price will be discussed individually and paid for at the time of service.  These prices are specially negotiated WITHOUT any insurance involved.  Therefore, they are significantly lower than what is typically billed.  However, all payments must be made at the time of the visit.  (Examples include multiple lab tests for $4-10 each, most X-rays $50-60, most CT scans $200 – $400, most MRI’s $300 – $500).  Yes, that is only about 20% or less of typical hospital fees for the same test!  Also, no insurance can be utilized to get tests at these rates.  These are free market prices, not influenced or controlled by a third party.  The reason the prices are so low is precisely because the test is simply ordered and obtained.  No need to ask for "permission" from an insurance company to make sure they will pay their part. If it is an appropriate test or image, we can simply discuss the risks/benefits and order it. 

We do not contract with any 3rd party insurance. This means greatly reduced overhead costs.  This savings is passed on to you. There are 2 primary systems in medicine. One must please a 3rd party (an insurance company, government agency, and/or corporate executive), the other simply works directly for the patient. It is impossible to do both. The 3rd party model forces you to pay high overhead costs. The Direct Care model cuts red tape, allowing the  free market  to set completely different prices.  This results in significant savings, and better access to service for you.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of DPC is that you are free to obtain the advice of the medical provider of your choice to help guide you in making healthcare decisions.  There is no bureaucrat reviewing / approving / denying your care  or telling you who is "in-network" or not. There is no “pay for performance” contract that pays me behind your back in order to save money for the 3rd party.

DPC is NOT insurance.  We do recommend that you purchase insurance or a cost-sharing plan of some sort, to cover potential events such as hospitalization, surgery, or some unforeseen catastrophe, etc. While medical services through DPC are quite reasonable, outside of direct primary care the medical world is exorbitantly expensive.  It makes sense to purchase  insurance or a cost-sharing plan for catastrophic events, but it’s a very expensive way to pay for routine care. It is important to understand that your DPC membership covers only primary care services obtained with our office. It does not cover specialty care (although we help coordinate referrals for this), medications (including vaccines), any surgeries done outside our office, x-rays or other imaging tests, hospital care (provided by hospitalist), or urgent care visits. Very simple: if it’s not done with our office, it’s not covered by your membership fee.  However, a membership carries real value in helping you access things like lab tests, imaging, and gives you increased access to your regular medical provider (ever called to schedule with your "regular" medical provider, only to be told they are weeks or months out?). If we can't see you the same day or the next day, we can communicate with you by phone or text to help you get the care and advice you need. 

DPC is tailor made as a great match for those with any form of high deductible insurance, or members of a cost sharing co-op--or for those looking for a different way to take care of their health!.

DPC Highlights:

• Increased ACCESS to medical care with your regular medical provider
• Primary care services SIMPLIFIED. 
• Fewer patients allow for more PERSONAL care
• Pricing absolutely STRAIGHTFORWARD
• CONSISTENCY with your care
• HOLISTIC care--we care about your body, mind and soul
• We will ADVOCATE for your health when care needed outside of the services we provide