We have offered a Direct Primary Care (DPC) option called DPC to patients for the past 5 years, which has really helped to serve our many of our uninsured patients or patients with high-deductible plans well. Below, I would like to give you a brief overview of DPC and what you can expect from our clinic.
DPC is an innovative model of primary care that is designed to bring our focus and attention back to you and the doctor-patient relationship while reducing the barriers, delays, and headaches that we commonly experience when dealing with insurance. Instead of billing insurance, we work directly with and for you through a monthly membership fee (similar to a gym membership) that helps to cover most, if not all, of what you need for your primary care. Any extra labs, procedures, imaging, or other testing will have clear, up-front, affordable pricing. No more co-pays, questions about in-network vs out-of-network, or what insurance will or will not cover. No more surprise medical bills. What this looks like to you is hassle-free, worry-free health care that is more personal, more meaningful, and specifically tailored to your needs.
Our DPC patients experience the following benefits:
- Unlimited number of visits to your clinician, with NO co-pays or surprise bills
- Longer and more comfortable in-office appointments
- Ability to text, email, or call your clinician directly
- Clear pricing on extra services like labs, procedures, and imaging.
Lastly, I want to talk more about clear pricing — my favorite aspect of DPC. In DPC, your monthly fee is a fixed price and will not change based on your use, whether that means you see me once per year or 100x per year. By setting it up this way, we are trying to reduce financial barriers to care and encourage you to seek out as much medical assistance and advice as you need. We want you to use your clinician often to answer medical questions, to serve as your accountability partner when establishing healthy habits, and to be a true advocate in your health journey.
The idea of price transparency also extends to labs, medications, procedures, and imaging. When you take insurance out the billing process, we can provide these services at a much-reduced price (up to 80% cheaper!), potentially saving you hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. If you are on expensive medications or need expensive imaging, we can help you find the cheapest cash-pay price in town. But if that is still too expensive, you can always choose to apply these items to your insurance. You would just give your insurance information to the pharmacy, lab office, imaging center, or specialist office for proper billing.
With DPC, you are given the power to better manage both your healthcare and how you spend your money. We believe that true health includes attention to physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing and promise to continue working hard to keep primary care affordable, accessible, and patient-focused for all.
