The Direct Primary Care model involves the subscription payment of a monthly fee instead of paying for individual office visits or going through insurance. This model allows patients to be seen by healthcare professionals as often as they need, for longer than insurance allows.

Pricing

Patients Age 15-29

$50 a month

($600 a year)

Patients Age 30-64

$75 a month

($900 a year)

Patients Age 65 and Over

$100 a month

($1200 a year)

Includes

• Primary Care Visits (physical exams, yearly wellness exams, sick visits, management of chronic disease, etc.)
  • Standard: 30 minute visits
• Unlimited Group Medical Visits
• Telemedicine option for all patients

Town Hall Meetings are free and open to the public. They are located at NFIM.

FAQs

1. How is DPC different from traditional primary care? 
   • DPC has a set monthly subscription fee that allows for more personalized care and longer patient visits. Traditional primary care bills through an insurance company, causing physicians to focus more on quantity of patients rather than quality of care.
2. How is DPC different from concierge medicine?
   • Unlike DPC, concierge medicine charges per visit in addition to their annual fee. Due to this, insurance is still involved, and co-pays and deductibles are collected at each visit.
3. What is not included DPC?
   • Immunizations, wholesale pricing of generic drugs, etc. are not included with DPC. *Exclusions are still being decided
4. Would I still need insurance?
   • We will be your primary care home. We encourage you not to drop insurance because it is important for referral to other doctors and catastrophic situations such as ER visits, hospitalization, surgeries, and other medical services not offered at a primary care office. This model will allow us to care for patients who are self-insured as well as patients who have comprehensive coverage. 
5. Do I have to pay copays and deductibles?
   • There are no copays or deductibles involved with NFIM once we pivot to this DPC model.
6. What about Medicare? Should I keep Medicare? 
   • Dr. Akey has decided to “opt out” of Medicare, signaling a shift in NFIM’s financial operations as it will cease collecting any Medicare-related payments. This transition is slated to occur by either July 1st, 2024, if there’s an urgent need to pivot towards Direct Primary Care (DPC), or by January 1st, 2025. However, even when the “opt out” is active  and the team will keep their “PECOS” numbers active with Medicare so she and the team can still order services through Medicare such as home health care, labs and radiology.  It is important to keep your Medicare part B for outpatient services, referrals to other physician consultants, and the above services.