Direct Primary Care FAQs

No, DPC is not insurance.  The monthly service fee is your payment for ongoing primary care services offered by your physician. We strongly recommend that patients have insurance or catastrophic coverage. Direct primary care couples nicely with a high deductible “wrap around” or “catastrophic” policy. We do have information about healthcare shares if you’d like more information to ditch insurance completely, please let us know!

Direct Primary Care medicine is rapidly increasing in popularity. If you have a low-deductible traditional plan and don’t wish to submit to your insurance company yourself, it may not be the right model for you. Sadly, those plans are becoming history. Most Americans have high-deductible plans. These plans are great for catastrophes, but otherwise provide little in return for the money they cost. If this is your current situation, Secoya Health DPC is a perfect solution.

No, we do not accept or bill health insurance. In the DPC model, we contract directly with each participant, not an insurance company, to provide quality care. By eliminating the restrictions and frustrations associated with health insurance, we keep costs low and spend as much time as needed with you. Insurance can be helpful in catastrophic situations, and we recommend that you to have insurance for emergencies, but you will find that much of the
care you receive through Secoya Health DPC costs less than it would if you were using insurance.

If you use Secoya Health DPC for your primary care, we will strive to keep you healthy and reduce the need for specialty care and hospitalizations, but there may be times that you will still need your insurance for specialty care, surgery, or hospitalizations. Secoya Health DPC is considered an ‘out of network’ provider for most insurances. We do code using an electronic health record and can provide you with superbills for your visit.

Absolutely! You will need to sign a one-time waiver declaring that neither you nor our office will directly bill Medicare for our services. You can continue to use Medicare for laboratory testing, imaging, and medications prescribed by our office, as well as specialty care and hospitalizations. You may even find that you will save money on your primary care, labs and medications through our discounted pricing.

Unfortunately, no. At this time your monthly retainer is not yet defined as a “medical expense” in most states and as such is not deductible. Charges for labs and medications, however, may be deductible. The laws are in flux, so please consult with your tax accountant or attorney to discuss your particular circumstances.

By providing excellent care with virtually unlimited access to your doctor, we seek to prevent or reduce hospitalizations. Since we do not provide inpatient hospital care, when hospitalization is necessary, we can collaborate with the hospitalist during your hospital stay if requested.

Yes! We are a family medicine practice, accepting children from birth. All child memberships must be accompanied by an adult membership.

This is one of the benefits of being a patient of Secoya Health DPC—because we know you well, we can usually care for you even when you’re away from home. Many illnesses can be diagnosed and treated by communication through by phone, secure text, email, or video chat. If necessary and appropriate, we can call prescriptions into the pharmacy nearest you.

No, unless you specifically request it. We take your privacy seriously, and we are not obligated to provide any third party with a copy of your records unless you specifically ask that we do and sign a release of records. In DPC, we contract directly with you!

We care about your experience and your satisfaction. We continually strive to improve. If you are not satisfied for any reason, please let us know so we can work to resolve any problems. Open and honest communication is vital to our continued success. We want to hear from you. We also welcome compliments!

Secoya Health DPC operates on a monthly billing basis, similar to other memberships. Our contracts start at 12 months. You may terminate your patient-physician relationship at any time. But we hope you don’t—please talk to us! If you decide to leave Secoya Health DPC before the end of your agreement, or if your payments lapse, the fee to reregister is $300.

We presently do not offer vaccinations at Secoya Health. We are happy to refer you to locations that can provide vaccinations if you desire. Often times, the local health department can provide affordable vaccines for children and adults.

We believe in judgement free healthcare. At Secoya Health we do not prescribe controlled substances, both narcotics (Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, etc.) and benzodiazepines (Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, Xanax, etc), have a limited role in primary care and therefore Dr. Jessica does not prescribe these medications. We believe of working with individuals on identifying the root for the health issue and optimizing the body’s ability to heal treating each person holistically, compassionately, and individually. We do not treat anxiety with benzodiazepines, but are happy to work with you to address methods to help your body address anxiety develop techniques often successful in treating anxiety. No controlled substances are kept in the office.

Your monthly billing sill start the day you complete your intake paperwork, sign your membership agreement and either have an onboarding call or initial exam. Please note that care cannot be provided through electronic means prior to an initial intake physical exam.

You will save money long-term by combining a Direct Primary Care membership with a higher-deductible health insurance policy or cost sharing plan. This provides you full spectrum family care at an affordable, transparent price. On average, a family of five saves around $700 a month on healthcare expenses. Eliminate the fear of being seen due to cost and enjoy the comfort knowing you can keep your family healthy.

You may consider asking yourself- why do I only see my primary care practitioner once per year? Is this because that’s all insurance covers? DPC can not only provide you regular guidance with your health questions, but also provide care when you have a more “urgent” need. Instead of going to Urgent care and waiting hours for a strep test, you can easily receive the same test at Secoya for a fraction of the cost.

As Emily Nagoski says, “Wellness is not a state of being, it’s a state of action.” Secoya Health is committed to helping you reach your health goals through regular visits. We feel as though an annual visit is not sufficient to fully achieve wellness. When you have your annual blood labs drawn, does your current provider send you a report without any explanation? “Your labs look good, see you next year!”? Secoya DPC Is creating a more empowered experience in healthcare. After labs, our providers will sit down with you and review these labs. What do the labs MEAN for your overall health and wellness? The more knowledge you have about your healthcare, the better you are able to understand your body.