FAQs

No.  In practices offering concierge care, patients typically pay a high retainer fee in addition to insurance premiums and other plan obligations (e.g., copays, out-of-pocket expenditures), and the practice continues to bill the patient’s insurance carrier.

In addition, concierge care still requires the physician to restrict care based on oppressive insurance and Medicare rules, and still burdens the physician with hours and hours of paperwork, taking away time and energy better devoted to the patient.

I prefer to be contacted by phone at my office during regular business hours.  I answer all calls personally (I have no office staff).  I am available much of the time to speak with you, but if I am seeing a patient, you are welcome to leave a message;  I will check these throughout the day.

You also have the ability to contact me via HIPAA compliant email and text messaging, including the ability to send attachments or photos. Emails will be answered as soon as possible, but it is understood that email responses are not considered as pressing as other forms of communication. Since I will be accessible and offering same day or next day appointments, there should be little need to contact me after hours, but I will be available for emergencies.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a meaningful medical alternative to fee-for-service insurance billing, utilizing instead, a monthly membership fee that covers all or most primary care services.

Laboratory tests and medication costs can often be offered at substantial reductions with in-house medication dispensary.  DPC practices typically provide patients significantly greater direct access to their physician and superior care since:

• The number of members is sizably restricted, typically only a small fraction of the number of patients in an insurance/Medicare based practice

• There are no oppressive insurance and Medicare regulations and restrictions

• The burden most physicians face of hours and hours of paperwork every day has been removed, leaving more time and energy for patients.

Membership normally costs $85 a month.

All memberships require an initial 3 months commitment. This covers unlimited access with NO additional fees, copays or deductibles.

Office visits are FREE once you become a member.

Although not a requirement, it is better if you do.  Although most of your primary care needs will be met with this new membership health model, this is not insurance; you will still need health insurance to cover major hospital bills, referrals, x-rays, MRIs, lab tests, and prescriptions for drugs I can’t provide. An insurance policy with a low premium and high deductible is an effective way to address those costs.

I will be seeing only a small fraction of the number of patients normally seen by an Internist.

I also will have a drastic reduction in the amount of paperwork I do by not dealing with insurance companies or Medicare – in the old practice I often spent more time on paperwork than seeing patients.

Also, with a DPC membership medical practice, I do not have to setup extra appointments for inconsequential concerns just to get paid – I now can answer many patients’ questions via phone calls, emails and texts, which frees up even more time.

All of that adds up to hundreds of hours now available to devote more attention to each patient, as well as more time for both office visits and non-office type communication.

Yes. I would love to support your business by providing thorough and cost-effective health care to your workforce.  If your employees take fewer sick days their productivity will increase. By offering a dispensary service, and working directly with testing labs, I can also offer reduced costs for many medications and for lab tests.  Your employees will be thrilled.  Please contact me for special group rates.

No. You get to be in control of your medical care – you have many options with DPC; if your schedule is busy you can talk to me about your issue on the phone, by text, or even email.

Gone are the days of your doctor “requiring” you to come in for an office visit just so the doctor could get adequately paid by the insurance company or Medicare.

If, however, you want an office visit, I can often schedule you for the same day or the next, and usually provide enough time to resolve the problem in one visit.  If it requires more visits, no problem – there is no extra fee, and no restrictions from insurance companies or Medicare on duration of visits or how many visits you can have to address a particular issue.

Call 911.  If possible, at your earliest opportunity, please call me or have a family member, friend, or the hospital contact me so I can coordinate your care (such as providing vital medical information to the ER), and thereby help ensure you are being properly cared for.

The minimum initial membership period is 3 months.  After that, membership is on a monthly basis and you can choose not to renew at any time thereafter.  If you cancel, you are eligible for reinstatement only once, with a $200 fee and another 3-month membership commitment.

This is a membership model that is based on providing continuous, long term care.

The monthly payments allow you to:

• Spread-out medical costs.
• Have a predicable, affordable expense each month.
• Reap the health benefits of more frequent office visits and consultations with your doctor.

No. Neither you nor I are allowed to bill Medicare for reimbursement of your monthly fee. When you become a member you will need to sign a waiver acknowledging that.

Medicare will still cover other services outside my office such as prescription drugs, referrals, imaging, ER visits and hospitalizations.

I work with adolescents age 14 and up, and all adults.  I have several patients over age 95.

Check with your insurance company to determine if there are any restrictions to seeing an out of network provider.  At this time, Oregon Health Plans (OHP) restrict patients to only preferred providers.

I do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or economic status. Contact me for lower rates for special circumstances.

I work with a secure online company, Hint Health, to set up monthly credit card payments.   In addition, I also accept checks and electronic fund transfers.

I am honored that you want me as your doctor, and hope there is a way for you to become a member. For special circumstances, I offer special rates and may consider bartering of services.

Please call me to discuss these things.

Insurance and Medicare control how doctors practice medicine, and have corrupted the doctor-patient relationship.  They have also made doctors’ primary responsibility that of “paperwork” instead of medical care. A Direct Primary Care membership model restores the doctor-patient relationship and lets me work for you, not your insurance company or the government.

Furthermore, even though DPC typically provides better primary care at a lower cost than fee-for-service based insurance and Medicare, they do not currently support/reimburse DPC membership fees (please feel free to speak with your Congressmen and Senators about that).

* It is recommended that you have some form of insurance (perhaps a low-premium/high-deductible plan) for major medical expenses such as hospitalizations.  You can also use your insurance and Medicare for referrals, prescriptions, laboratory testing, and imaging.

Unfortunately, I am unable to take OHP. I wish this weren’t the case. Oregon has decided to have only in-network doctors see OHP people so if I were to see someone with OHP and I write for medication or order an xray, OHP will not pay for it.

Membership provides you a level of care and access to me that is not possible under the burdensome and restrictive regulations of Medicare and insurance.

They also do not cover numerous important services and procedures.  They often only offer partial reimbursement, and patients are responsible for copays, co-insurance and deductibles.  Those costs can discourage patients from seeing their doctor, especially when they have insurance with a high deductible.  Coming in to see me more often, even when you have no “problem” can prevent small, sometimes hidden issues, from turning into big, sometimes life-threatening issues.

Excellent, intensive primary care, unrestricted by insurance and Medicare, can deliver the vast majority of the healthcare most people require.  DPC clinics like mine have also been shown to significantly reduce the need for unnecessary, expensive, stressful, and time consuming tests, visits to specialists, visits to ER/urgent care centers, and hospital stays.

Although you may not normally have medical problems, the ability to consult a doctor for minor concerns is still invaluable. Problems you may otherwise ignore are now only a simple phone-call or visit away.

More importantly, membership will provide regular appointments to not only maintain your health, but optimize it.  More frequent visits also allow me to get to know you better, and help me discover small changes, that if noticed, can prevent otherwise hidden medical issues from turning into life-threatening ones.

If you have insurance, you will be covered.  Additionally, since I am limiting the number of patients in my new membership practice, I will be intimately familiar with your medical history and can provide excellent consultation services.   I also have access to your electronic medical records any time you need them.

What is included in membership?

• Amazing Value – for roughly the price of one non-DPC doctor visit, you get as many visits as you need for two months!
• Incredible personal attention
• 24/7 Extended availability – care when you need it
• Technical expertise – Internal Medicine knowledge & skills honed over 20 years
• Extra benefits such as annual physicals, EKGs, skin biopsies, and many more
• Medication Management & a low-cost prescription drug dispensary in the works
• Access to low-cost lab tests
• Medical advice and lifestyle counseling
• Preventative care
• Coordination of care

Please note:  Labs, x-rays, other imaging, and many prescription drugs, are expected to be available at significantly reduced prices.  Other costs covered by insurance, such as hospitalizations, ER visits, or seeing a specialist, are not included.