Finally, there are some free market principles available in healthcare! Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a simple, straightforward concept. It centers around our clinic working 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 that we work for you, and no one else. The way we believe primary care should be.
With DPC, the patient pays a simple monthly membership fee. This allows our clinic to take care of less total patients, providing you with improved availability and care. Concierge clinics do this for high fees, whereas DPC is a more “blue collar” approach. Our monthly membership fee is $90 for an individual. The maximum monthly fee for a family is $200 (family includes any number of children through age 24). 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 $5-15 each, most X-rays $50-60, most CT scans $200 – $400, most MRI’s $300 – $500). Yes, that is only about 10% 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 3rd party involvement whatsoever.
We do not contract with any 3rd party insurance. This means greatly reduced overhead costs. This savings is passed on to you. I have learned that I can choose between two very different models for operating a practice. One must please a 3rd party, 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 for you.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of DPC is that you are free to obtain the advice of the physician of your choice to help guide you in making healthcare decisions. There is no bureaucrat reviewing / approving / denying your care. 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. However, we do recommend that you purchase insurance of some form to cover potential events such as hospitalization, surgery, or some unforeseen catastrophe, etc. It makes sense to purchase insurance 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 obtained with our office. It does not cover specialty care (although we help coordinate referrals for this), medications, 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 some medications for greatly reduced prices.
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.
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a simple, straightforward concept. The centerpiece is that 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 that we work for you, and no one else. The way your healthcare should be.
With DPC, the patient pays a simple monthly membership fee. This allows our clinic to take care of less total patients, providing you improved attention and care. Concierge clinics do this for high fees, whereas DPC is a more “blue collar” approach. Our monthly membership fee is $55 for an individual. After that, most visits carry a simple $20 scheduling fee. Simple. Most basic labs etc are INCLUDED in this fee (see services / pricing page for details). No surprise bills ever show up in the mail. If an additional lab test is desired, the price will be discussed individually and paid for at the time of service.
We do not contract with any 3rd party (someone other than you). That means there is no need to please the demands of a large bureaucratic organization. Such entities have huge operating costs that are ultimately passed on to you. Additionally, if they pay your bill, we then must work to please them. This means higher costs and less control for you. However, when we simplify this and just work for you, our operating costs go down significantly. What bureaucratic paperwork do you require before getting a test done?
I have learned that I can choose between two very different models for delivering healthcare. One that must please 3rd parties, or one that works for you. It is impossible to do both. The first passes very high overhead costs on to you. The second choice allows me to actually pass savings on to you.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of DPC is that YOU are the one that determines what is “medically necessary”. You should be free to obtain the advice of the physician of your choice (only board certified MD’s practice here, no “mid level providers”). No bureaucrat reviewing / approving / denying your care. There is no “pay for performance” contract that pays me behind your back to be an obstacle to your care, in order to save money for the 3rd party.
DPC is NOT insurance! Thankfully! However, we do recommend that you purchase insurance of some form to cover potential events such as hospitalization, surgery, or some unforeseen catastrophe, etc. It really only makes sense to insure against catastrophic events, not everyday care. It is important to understand that your DPC membership covers only routine primary care obtained with us. It does not cover specialty care (although we help coordinate referrals for this), medications, major surgeries done outside our office, or hospital care (provided by hospitalist). Very simple: if it’s not done with our office, it’s not covered by your membership fee.
DPC is tailor made as a great match for those with any form of high deductible insurance, or members of a religious cost sharing co-op.