What IS Direct Primary Care, anyway?

DPC is an insurance-free, membership-based model of care that allows more personalized, accessible, affordable care.  Our board-certified primary care physicians LOVE what they do and feel that a DIRECT relationship with their patients is the only way to provide meaningful care.  

Our low monthly fees are made possible by our lean business model.  No insurance billing = no billing or coding departments necessary, which decreases overhead tremendously.  In addition, our patient panels are smaller than in a traditional practice, which allows us the time we need to get to know our patients and to provide prompt care in whatever way necessary (same or next-day clinic visit, email, text, house call, phone call or video chat).  It's back to good old-fashioned relationship-based care where your doctor knows you and is available whenever needed.

Check out our Services & Pricing page for more details on what we offer.

Would Direct Primary Care be right for me?

DPC is ideal for many different groups of people, including:

• People with lower cost, large deductible insurance policies ("catastrophic plans"), as these products typically do not pay for outpatient visits.
• People who value wellness and want to stay healthy.
• People with complex medical histories typically requiring frequent medical visits and needing more time with their physician.
• People who want to take charge of their own health care, without government or insurance interference.​​

                                                                                                                                                                
Who should NOT join Health Suite 110?

• People who enjoy waiting - whether it be on hold for a nurse, in a waiting room full of sick people or in your underwear in an exam room hoping you haven't been forgotten.​
• People who prefer paying way too much for routine medications, labs and imaging studies.
• People who would rather have a doctor spend more time looking at their computer screen than they do you.
• People who prefer to go to urgent care or the ER for routine medical needs.
• People who do not value small businesses or their community - Health Suite 110 is an independent primary care practice that relies on consistent member-support in order to offer our services to ALL - this includes free care at times to those who truly need it.

What is included in the DPC membership?

- Unlimited visits with your personal, board-certified physician
- Annual wellness visit & physical
- Direct access to your personal physician by phone, email, text or video chat
- Same day or next day appointments for urgent needs
- Medications at wholesale prices
- Discounted rates for imaging (X-rays, CAT scans, MRIs, etc) negotiated with local facilities
- All in-office procedures as needed (EKG, spirometry, mole removal, stitches, breathing treatments, vaccine administration, routine fracture care, skin biopsy, sebaceous cyst removal, joint injections, cryotherapy, hearing and vision screens, ear wax removal, pap smears, IUD removals, urine pregnancy test, etc). 

Are there any income or health guideline restrictions to becoming a member?  ​

No.  We welcome anyone to join no matter what your income, insurance or health status may be.

What does it cost?

Less than you might think!
Please check out the Services & Pricing page to learn more details about our membership & straight-forward pricing.  ​

I own a small business.  Would I be able to offer membership to my employees?

Yes!  Health Suite 110 empowers employers to dramatically improve healthcare quality for employees and their families, while significantly reducing overall health plan costs.  Please contact us for more information & we'll be happy to set up a time to chat at your convenience. 

What is "Health Suite 110"?

Health Suite 110 is our DPC co-op founded by Dr. Vannaman and Dr. Ahmed in 2015 to allow independent, primary care physicians to join together in the spirit of collaboration, innovation and camaraderie.  When you join Health Suite 110, you will choose who you would like as your primary doctor, but we will care for you as a team.

How will I know which Health Suite 110 doctor is right for me?

We encourage you to take a few minutes to read about our physicians to help decide who would be the best fit for you and your family.  You are also welcome to call and schedule a free 15 minute visit to meet any of our physicians before enrolling for what, we trust, will be a long, productive, altogether healthy relationship.

As a patient here will I still need health insurance?

Yes. We recommend that our patients continue to carry, at minimum, both a major medical plan and a health savings account, thereby ensuring financial help should hospitalization or referral to a specialist be necessary. Pairing a lower premium health insurance plan with our model can offer significant cost savings while providing excellent primary care services.  We will be happy to refer you to insurance representatives who can help you customize an insurance plan to your specific needs.

Do you process insurance?

No.  Happily, no.

Why don't you process insurance?  ​

Short answer:  because we love taking care of our patients, not their insurance companies.

Longer answer: Insurance is best designed to cover the big, expensive, unexpected medical costs and has no place in primary care as it leads to significant waste of time, money and resources.  As much as half of a physician's time can be used up on non-patient care activities such as billing, coding, documentation and arguing with insurance companies about coverage (aka "prior authorizations").  Many management experts encourage physicians to simply hand off these non-patient-care activities to others, which is why clinics hire a whole army of people to do this.  This, in turn, results in increasingly higher overhead costs (estimated at over $80,000 per physician, per year), which then require doctors to see more and more patients per day, resulting in less and less time and attention to patients.  
Crazy, huh?  

Additionally, there are limitations as to how much insurance will reimburse for a single visit.  In addition to lack of time, this may explain the reason why your doctor may require you to return to discuss multiple issues, why you cannot address your knee pain at your "annual wellness visit" and why you can have only one wax-impacted ear cleaned out in a single visit.  Insurance will simply not reimburse for all these services to be addressed in the same office visit.  Ludicrous?  Absolutely.  There is a better way.

By cutting out the middlemen (insurance companies), Direct Primary Care allows improved access, quality care and value while ALSO improving the health and well-being of both patient and doctor.

I already have health insurance; why would I pay twice for healthcare??

Oh, but we already are!  Wouldn't it be nice if it made more sense and offered more value?  Remember, a CARD in your wallet does not necessarily equal CARE when and how you need it.

"The first time you pay is when you (or your employer, or the government) pay your premiums, and the second time is when you pay anything in addition to those premiums, like copays, prescriptions, etc.  Direct Primary Care is a way to decrease how much you shell out for the second payment, while providing high quality, easily accessible primary care to boot.  Actually, it is a way to save money on the first payment, too.  You can think of DPC as “carving out” the primary care piece from health insurance.  With DPC, people can consider transitioning to a lower premium, higher deductible insurance plan, carrying DPC as a hedge against using their deductible.  Health insurance is then reserved for the less common, expensive stuff.  Isn’t that how car insurance works?"  Dr. Rohal's full blog post HERE.
​

I have Medicare/Medicaid. Can you see me?

Absolutely! We take care of everyone, regardless of insurance status. Most of our patients have insurance and can use them for services provided OUTSIDE of our clinic, such as sub-specialist visits/procedures, surgeries or hospitalizations.  Our goal is to provide excellent primary care to help avoid unnecessary sub-specialist visits or hospitalization.

Is my membership tax deductible?

Your membership fee is not yet defined as a “medical expense” in most states and as such is not deductible. The American Academy of Private Physicians, however, is lobbying hard to win rightful deductibility for these expenses. In the meantime, consult with your tax consultant to clarify tax consequences in your particular circumstances.

what is your vaccine policy?

All of our physicians encourage adherence to the CDC immunization guidelines that are endorsed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics.  We understand the hesitancy that some patients have regarding vaccines and are happy to discuss these concerns together.

All vaccines are provided at our wholesale cost or can be billed to your insurance. Please contact us for more details.

All specialty immunizations can be arranged through the Health Department, pharmacy clinic or travel clinic as needed.

Can you manage chronic pain? How about narcotics?

We have no problem managing chronic pain. We will try every treatment modality available to manage your pain and more importantly investigate the source to hopefully eradicate your pain. However, we will not manage, prescribe, or refill narcotics/opiods for long-term use. ​

What about mental health? Do you manage depression, anxiety, etc?

Absolutely. All of our board-certified physicians are happy to help manage complex health issues, including mental health conditions. If the management requires a specialist, such as a psychiatrist, then we will refer you to one immediately. We have partnered with several psychiatrists that are willing to assist our members in managing their mental health concerns.  Again, we have strict guidelines on use of benzodiazepines (sleeping pills, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, etc) and stimulants (Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta, etc) and prefer to manage these conditions with other strategies and non-addictive medications when possible.

Do you manage chronic Lyme disease, adrenal fatigue or Bio-identical hormones

We provide comprehensive care to help manage any chronic diseases you may have.  We do not, however, prescribe things like longterm antibiotics for chronic lyme disease, steroids for adrenal fatigue or compounded hormone replacement therapy.  There are FDA-approved bio-identical hormone products, which we are happy to review.  

Have any more questions?  Give us a call!  913-948-7652