What Makes Direct Primary Care Different?
At Nextera Healthcare, we are offering a better way for you and your family to gain access to the health care you deserve. We offer what’s called Direct Primary Care. We find that many people are unfamiliar with Direct Primary Care and how it makes going to doctor’s offices different than before. In today’s blog at Nextera Healthcare, we dive into what Direct Primary Care is, how it works, and how it differs from the traditional healthcare model.
Looking for a better way to get the health care you and your family need? Sign up for our affordable Nextera Healthcare membership and gain access to locations all throughout Longmont, Greeley, Frederick, Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver, and more!
How Does It Work?
So how does a membership at Nextera Healthcare work? You can think of it as a subscription, similar to Netflix or Amazon Prime, that gets you unlimited access to your preferred health care professional. You pay a low monthly membership for yourself, your family, or through your employer. Once you are a member, you are free to visit your favorite doctors for any reason as often as you’d like — no strings attached. In our case, you can think of Direct Primary Care like a gym membership. Of course, you are always welcome by when you are sick, but you are also invited to stop in to connect with your caregiving community and be proactive with your health and wellness! Our physicians at Nextera Healthcare want you to understand that they actually have time for you. Traditional doctors’ offices give you about eight minutes of your time, then send you on your way with a hefty bill. With our Direct Primary Care services, our doctors take the time to get to know you. In fact, in many cases, physicians wind up spending 30 minutes to an hour with their patients. This allows us to focus on your overall wellbeing and take preventative measures with your healthcare, rather than reacting after you are already sick.
At Nextera Healthcare, we have two major goals: to make sure that our members have a good positive experience connecting with their doctor and to help them reach and maintain their optimal health. These are values that are very different than the traditionally insurance-based healthcare model that people are used to. Where their methods are primarily geared toward sick care, Direct Primary Care is focused on sick care, preventative health, and overall wellbeing.
Direct Primary Care is a direct agreement with your healthcare doctor rather than a third party like an insurance company. You’ll never pay any extra in the form of a copay or any other fee regardless of how often you choose to visit.
It’s important to note that Direct Primary Care can take care of about 90% of your health care needs, but there are some exceptions. The list of things that Nextera Healthcare doesn’t cover is as follow:
- Lab Services
- Medical Imaging
- Surgeries
- Specialists
- Emergency Room Visits
- Hospitalization
However, the good news is that membership covers much, much more than it does not. A Direct Primary Care membership with us includes but isn’t limited to:
- Acute care and chronic disease management
- Allergy management
- Dermatology
- Mental health, including management for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders
- School, sports, and workplace physicals
- Sleep hygiene assessments and support
- Stress management
- Treatment of sprains, lacerations, and broken bones
- Weight management and health risk assessment
- Women’s health
- Wellness checks for infants and children
- Preventive health care
- Same-day appointments or next-day appointments based on medical need
Ready to learn more and sign up for your Direct Primary Care membership? Contact us today and gain access to all of our many locations in Longmont, Greeley, Frederick, Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver, and more!
No Copays
We touched on this above, but one of the main aspects of Direct Primary Care that sets it apart is the fact that there are never any copays. Many people typically have one of two main insurance plans.
Plan #1
One of the two main insurance plans that many people have is a PPO plan. In this model, you pay a monthly insurance premium and you are responsible for a copay (usually about $50) every time you choose to visit a primary care doctor.
Plan #2
The second common health insurance plan is a high-deductible plan. This is where your monthly premium is usually much lower than that of a PPO, but with some considerable drawbacks. High-deductible plans often cover 0% of the primary care bills. This is due to the fact that insurance will not start to provide coverage until a certain threshold has been met. Depending on the plan, this could be anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000 annually. In this model, you have to cover every medical expense up to your deductible amount, then insurance will start to cover any costs after that deductible has been met. Typically, people in this model pay for every primary care visit out of pocket (~$200 per visit) because they never end up meeting the annual deductible.
With Nextera Healthcare, there are no copays or additional fees of any kind whether you visit your doctor once or 100 times.
Peace of Mind
When you can visit your physician as much as you need without fear of a costly bill or copay, you will quickly gain a sense of security and peace of mind. You’ll never have to weigh the consequences of taking care of your health or saving your hard-earned money. Many people find themselves putting off or avoiding the doctor altogether because of the cost they could incur from just one visit. Direct Primary Care at Nextera Healthcare is offering you the freedom and stress-free access to health care where and when you need it most.
Get access to the health care you deserve. Become a member of Nextera Healthcare today.
Variety of Locations
With insurance companies, you typically have “in-network” providers that you can visit and “out-of-network” providers that you can choose to go to but will cost you more. Sometimes, there may not be an in-network provider nearby. So you have to drive out of your way to visit the doctor they tell you to go see. With Direct Primary Care, you don’t have to worry about in-network and out-of-network. Simply visit a Nextera Healthcare location when you need to. There is almost always a primary care doctor near you. We have countless locations all across Northern Colorado including Longmont, Greeley, Frederick, Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver, and more across the entire state.
Can’t make it into the office? Don’t sweat it! A Direct Primary Care membership at Nextera Healthcare not only gives you unlimited access to your physician in person but virtually as well! We know that it isn’t always feasible to make it into the office in person. That’s why we also give you unlimited access to your physician — not a doctor you are unfamiliar with — via telehealth. Telehealth is more important now more than ever with the widespread COVID-19 Coronavirus. Primary care offices are not seeing sick patients in the office, so it’s essential that you have the access and coverage you need to see your doctor over the phone or through the use of technology. At Nextera Healthcare, we like to tell our members that the cellphone is our second office! You can set up a virtual visit wherever you are rather than making your way into the office. In some cases, traditional insurance-based healthcare systems offer virtual doctor visits. But all too often they are with a doctor you are unfamiliar with and are not covered by insurance regardless of your plan since most providers only cover face-to-face visits. Whether you visit us face-to-face or virtually, our Direct Primary Care physicians will take great care of you.
Nextera Healthcare
We hope that today’s blog post has shed some light on the differences between traditional models of healthcare and Direct Primary Care with Nextera. If you are interested in learning more about Direct Primary Care and Nextera Healthcare, feel free to visit our Defining Direct Primary Care page. Or, if you are ready to sign up for your membership, you can register here!