Many people these days feel that the American Health Care system is broken. The rising costs are difficult for patients to bear, and many doctors feel like they're caught in a nightmare of red tape from insurance companies and administrators. Neither patients nor doctors have the experience they need or want.
Direct primary care can move doctors and patients alike away from the situation and stop insurance companies from dictating how medicine should be practiced. Here's what you should know.
What Is Direct Primary Care?
Direct primary care, or DPC, involves a private billing or payment agreement between doctors and patients. No insurance is involved and the fee-for-service model of primary care is eliminated, cutting the red tape drastically and lowering costs across the board. DPC practices charge each patient a periodic fee for comprehensive access to primary care services.
How Does DPC Benefit Patients?
In this day and age, it almost seems terrifying to suggest moving away from the regular insurance system—yet it's probably exactly what patients should do. The benefits of DPC for patients are huge. They include:
Typically, tests that aren't covered by the DPC system's flat rate are available for additional fees, although those fees are usually deeply discounted. Some DPC practices can even dispense a patient's medication for chronic illnesses at the wholesale price instead of the inflated price found at regular pharmacies.
Do Patients Need Any Other Health Insurance with DPC?
When people buy health insurance, the costs rise with the coverage. A good insurance policy with a low deductible that allows patients as many visits as they need with their physicians is going to be expensive. Under the DPC model, the majority of the services patients regularly need — even when they have a chronic condition — are covered by their retainer. Patients may want to consider a wraparound health insurance policy with a high deductible in case they're involved in a catastrophic accident or develop a serious illness.
The reduced administrative burden on physicians and patients alike helps restore the sanctity of the physician-patient relationship. Removing the insurance companies from the equation lets the business of medicine put its focus where it belongs.
Share3 December 2019
I am a mother of four wonderful children, and like other parents, I have been to my fair share of health care clinics. It seems like my children are always getting scrapes and coming down with colds. When I was a new parent, I never knew whether I should take my injured or ill child to the emergency room or local urgent care facility. I received some simple advice from a seasoned parent that made my decisions easier that I want to pass onto all new parents, along with other health tips I've learned. he told me that she tended to take her children to the ER when they were bleeding or had very high temperatures and took them to the local urgent care for any other problem. I have followed her advice ever since, and my children remain healthy and happy!
