Does DPC Save Money?
Sometimes people balk at the idea of a subscription fee to a DPC doctor. You still need to have health insurance to cover emergency and catastrophic care (although some people opt out of this). So this is just more money spent, right?
Well, first of all, you’re getting a pretty good service with your DPC fee. You get direct cell phone access to a doctor without having to go through a front desk or a phone tree. And, you get one hour appointments in the office anytime you want.
But there are financial savings, too.
You may not need urgent care as my patient
If you get sick and are wondering if you need to go to the ER or urgent care and you try to call your doctor, chances are you won’t hear back before you need to make a decision. And if you end up in the ER, you’re looking at a high copay of $300 or more at the least, and the full cost of service ($2500 or more) if you have a high deductible plan.
A phone call with your DPC doctor is included in your subscription fee, and might give you the answers you need without needing to head off to urgent care. Here’s a more in-depth piece specifically about providing urgent care type support to my patients, called “Please bother me! That’s what I’m here for.”
Preferential lab rates
Our DPC practice has preferential lab rates. You can get a full set of preventive labs for under $50. You can get an STI screen for $35. You can get your routine diabetes or high blood pressure labs for around $10. These labs would normally run $300-$500 for each set, and most insurance requires you to pay 20% of that, or in a high deductible plan, the entire amount.
A patient of mine, who lives far from most of the healthcare systems that I usually use, asked about ordering her test from a lab provider that’s close to her house. It’s not one I usually work with, but it’s convenient for her. The lab reported that her tests would cost $375 if she paid cash. If she used her insurance, it would cost $140. I checked the local pricing for these labs. Can you guess how much she would pay if she had them done here in St. Louis? FIVE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS. To get her labs done at her local lab, she would pay 68x the cost compared to what I could get them for here. I wish I were exaggerating. But these are actual costs that would come out of her pocket. $5.50 vs. $375.
Using independent pharmacies
We have relationships with independent pharmacies that seek the best deals for you to get your expensive medicines. We have patients who are saving $1000 a month on their medications thanks to us working with those pharmacies.
When you add all this up, there’s a good chance you’ll save money overall. One of my first patients in this practice told me that in his first three months of care with us here at Nexus, he had already saved enough to pay our fees for three years. And in addition to those savings, he gets direct access to us whenever he needs it. He’s a very happy camper.
So if you’re thinking about the financial implications of DPC, give us a call at (314) 464-9333 or schedule an appointment for yourself and let’s see what we might be able to do with you. You might be pleasantly surprised with the savings you can realize! And that’s something you won’t hear too often at all in health care.
