Direct Primary Care vs. Traditional Health Care & Medical Insurance
Direct Primary Care vs. Traditional Medical Insurance: What’s the Difference?
You may have heard that direct primary care (DPC) offers a “concierge-style” approach to healthcare along with more time with your doctor. But what does that really mean? And more importantly, how is DPC different from traditional medical care?
You might also have questions about health insurance for small businesses and are wondering if DPC can meet your needs.
At PeakMed, located in Colorado Springs, CO, and also serving the Denver metro area, we know you have questions about the DPC approach. That’s why we believe it is important that you know why DPC can improve your health outcomes and how this innovative approach is superior to the traditional health insurance alternatives.
Feel free to contact our office at any time to learn more about direct primary care.
How is direct primary care different from traditional health care and health insurance?
To help you understand the differences between direct primary care and traditional health insurance, refer to this helpful chart.
Direct Primary Care
- No insurance required to receive services
- No healthcare mark-ups — save 50-80%!
- See your doctor at any time — no more waiting weeks for appointments
- Extended medical visits to get to know your doctor
- No more copays or confusing deductibles
- Unlimited office visits
- Avoid expensive ER or urgent care visits
- Additional benefits such as complementary diagnostic tests
- DPC providers take on fewer patients to give everyone in their care undivided attention
- Might need additional coverage for hospital stays or visits to specialists
- Prescriptions are included offered at wholesale pricing
- Great business health care alternatives
Traditional Medical Care
- Significant bureaucracy
- Third-party cost mark-ups
- Expensive copays and deductibles
- Diagnostic tests cost extra
- Difficulty scheduling appointments and being seen by a doctor
- Rushed medical visits
- Medical providers must overbook patients to break even
- Covers hospital stays and specialists
- Prescriptions are usually included
DPC is physicians delivering care directly to patients by eliminating the need of insurance or middlemen interfering with that sacred doctor-patient relationship
Here are the facts: direct primary care is a superior healthcare model because it offers medical providers more freedom to get you or your employees the treatments they deserve. Under the traditional healthcare insurance model, certain treatments can be off-limits because the individual’s insurance won’t cover it — even if the treatment is proven to be more effective! We think that is unacceptable.
Understanding direct primary care
So what exactly is DPC? If you’ve ever dealt with the traditional healthcare system, you probably already know that it is full of confusing terminology and billing practices.
Direct primary care (DPC) was created to eliminate these confusing barriers and lower your healthcare costs by providing medical care that is truly personalized. With DPC, you are treated like a unique individual with thorough appointments (often up to an hour) where your doctor gets to know you personally.
Instead of using traditional healthcare insurance, you access everything direct primary care has to offer with an affordable monthly membership fee. With DPC, there are no surprise costs. Everything is included in the membership plan.
Direct primary care offers everything you expect from primary care services and more, including:
- General and family care
- Preventative & proactive care
- Chronic disease management
- Business healthcare for your employees
Essentially, DPC removes the unpredictable nature of traditional medical insurance altogether. Just call the office today to learn more about what DPC can provide you.
Recently, people searching for health insurance for small businesses are turning to the DPC model to help meet their employees’ needs. Reach out to PeakMed today to see if direct primary care is the right business health insurance alternatives for you.
Is direct primary care an alternative for business health care?
Absolutely! Direct primary care is an excellent business health insurance alternatives. Here’s how you can use DPC for your business.
First, traditional medical insurance for businesses is extremely expensive. And the truth is, many businesses don’t have the capital to provide adequate group health insurance plans for their employees. Further complicating matters, to pay for these expensive traditional medical insurance plans, employees are often asked to contribute a significant portion of their wages.
Many businesses don’t realize that they have another alternative — DPC.
With DPC, both your business and your employees save money. By utilizing the affordable DPC membership plan, your employees have affordable and dedicated access to a medical professional.
To supplement the DPC membership in case of significant medical emergencies, you can buy your employees a high-deductible healthcare supplement. These insurance alternatives are much more affordable than the traditional medical insurance that most businesses provide and will protect your employees in a situation where they need to see a specialist or be hospitalized.
Reach out to PeakMed today to learn more about DPC for your employees.
Healthcare for small businesses — traditional medical care or DPC?
Did you know that if you own a small business you have an alternative regarding how to provide medical care for yourself and your employees?
Many small businesses feel like they can’t provide group health insurance plans or don’t provide it because it is so expensive. And it’s true — traditional medical insurance is extremely expensive both for a small business and the employee.
In fact, traditional insurance costs increase at an average of 3-5% every year. Furthermore, even with insurance, people who receive medical care are commonly hit with even more bills after the fact. Those numbers are staggering, so it is no wonder that many small businesses and their employees go uninsured.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Many small businesses and their employees are finding affordable and personalized healthcare alternatives with DPC.
Do you still need health insurance if you are enrolled in direct primary care?
Yes; however, while your monthly membership fee covers anything involved in your primary care, such as in-office and virtual visits with your doctor, diagnostics, and more, care from specialists or hospital fees aren’t covered by DPC.
Therefore, consider a very affordable high-deductible healthcare insurance plan. For just a few dollars a month, you’ll be covered from any significant medical event that lands you in the hospital for an extended period.
If you don’t want a high-deductible medical supplement plan, consider a health savings account (HSA) or a prescription savings plan. Both of these alternatives will help cover you from substantial costs in the case of a medical emergency.
Learn more about direct primary care today!
If you are interested in learning more about direct primary care for yourself or your business, reach out to PeakMed today. We are the region’s leader in DPC, and our experts are happy to answer any of your questions.