Frequently Asked Questions

Direct Primary Care is a direct relationship between you and your physician. Instead of billing insurance companies for visits, phone calls, or administrative codes, you pay a flat monthly membership fee directly to my practice.

In return, you get extended appointment times, direct access to me by phone or secure messaging, and zero copays or surprise bills for in-office care.

Direct Primary Care handles your day-to-day outpatient medicine, but it is not insurance. It does not cover emergency room visits, hospital admissions, surgeries, or major specialty treatments.

Because unexpected medical emergencies happen, most patients pair their DPC membership with a high-deductible plan, a major medical policy, or a healthshare community like CrowdHealth. Pairing DPC with a catastrophic or high-deductible solution frequently cuts total healthcare costs while keeping you protected against large hospital bills.

No. I do not bill or submit claims to any commercial insurance plans. Eliminating third-party insurance billing removes prior authorizations, arbitrary coding mandates, and administrative overhead, allowing me to keep my patient panel small and appointment times unhurried.

I am formally opting out of Medicare effective January 1, 2027. Opted-out physicians care for Medicare beneficiaries under a private contract.

Neither my clinic nor you can submit claims to Medicare for services rendered in my office. However, your Medicare coverage remains completely intact for all outside care, including prescription drugs, outpatient labs, imaging, specialists, and hospitalizations.

Medicare patients are welcome to join the waitlist now; clinical appointments for Medicare beneficiaries officially open January 1, 2027.

Because my patient panel is kept significantly smaller than traditional corporate practices, acute visits are typically scheduled within 1 to 2 business days, and often same-day when available.

Appointments are scheduled for 30 or 60 minutes, depending on your needs. There is ample time to address multiple concerns and review details thoroughly without feeling rushed.

Members have direct phone and messaging access to me. Non-urgent messages sent after business hours or over the weekend are generally addressed the following business day. While I do occasionally review and respond to evening messages when able, after-hours responses are never guaranteed—and you can safely assume I won’t be answering a 2:00 AM text until morning. For true emergencies, patients should always call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

As a board-certified family physician, I care for patients across all life stages, including newborns, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. (Please note that my practice scope does not include pregnancy delivery/obstetrical care).

Yes. Federal regulations allow DPC fees to be paid with pre-tax HSA funds up to $150 per month for individuals and $300 per month for families. Paying fees above those limits is permissible, but fees beyond those caps can impact your ability to make new tax-deductible HSA contributions for the year. I provide itemized receipts for your tax records.

Routine point-of-care testing performed in the office (such as rapid strep, urine tests, and fingerstick glucose) is included in your membership.

For send-out blood work, X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, you can choose to use your regular insurance at outpatient facilities (such as Quest, Labcorp, or local imaging centers), or use my discounted cash-pay lab rates, which are often a fraction of standard hospital billing rates.

If you require specialty care, I coordinate directly with area specialists, and you can use your health insurance for those visits.

Insurance note: Most PPO plans do not require a referral from an in-network doctor. However, certain strict HMO plans require referrals to originate from an assigned in-network primary care provider for insurance to cover the visit. If you have an HMO, we can discuss the most practical way to handle that process.