What is Direct Primary Care or DPC?
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a membership-based model where patients pay their primary care provider directly through monthly or annual fees rather than paying through an insurance provider. A pay-per-visit option is offered as well for those not interested in the membership model.
Providing flat-rate pricing and not accepting any forms of health insurance allows for more personalized and affordable healthcare. Prepaid monthly memberships are offered with a broad range of primary care services, including bloodwork and in-office procedures. Access to discounted labs is also offered to those who elect the pay-per-visit option.
The membership plan could also be a great opportunity for businesses to offer health benefits to their employees.
How is DPC better or different from traditional primary care?
Brock Family Care offers the following benefits when traditional primary care does not:
- Same or Next Day, Unrushed Appointments
- See your personal provider every time
- Access to staff by text message even after hours
- Up-front, predictable, wholesale pricing
- No co-pays or hidden charges
- Get help navigating the healthcare system
- On-site lab services
Does Brock Family Care accept insurance?
Not for our services, but we may collect insurance information for services we outsource, such as some labs, diagnostic tests, and referrals to specialists.
How much do I have to pay?
There are two options of payment – monthly membership or pay-per-visit.
We have two types of memberships - Basic Membership, which is $75 per person with discounted options for family members, or Membership PLUS, which is $85 per person with discounted options for family members. If you are a business covering the cost of membership for your employees, the fee is pre-negotiated with each employer depending on how many employees would be enrolled.
A pay-per-visit option is offered as well for those not interested in the membership model. A new patient visit is $150, and any follow-up visit is $125 plus any additional services, such as injections, and any in-office labs or procedures. Please visit our pricing page for more details.
What is included in the monthly membership fee?
Basic Membership Plan
- Unlimited Visits including telehealth visits during business hours. (After-hours or weekend urgent visits will be $50).
- 2 sets of complete lab work per year per person:
- CBC w/ diff
- CMP
- Hemoglobin A1C
- Ferritin
- Lipid Panel
- TSH+Free T4
- Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy
- PSA (for men after 55)
- 1 annual physical exam including EKG and Urinalysis.
- House calls as appropriate- up to 2 free visits a year. (After the second home visit, there will be a charge of $50).
Membership PLUS Plan
- Unlimited Visits including telehealth visits during business hours. (After-hours or weekend urgent visit will be $50).
- 2 sets of complete lab work per year per person:
- CBC w/ diff
- CMP
- Hemoglobin A1C
- Ferritin
- Lipid Panel
- TSH+Free T4
- Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy
- PSA (for men after 55)
- 1 annual physical exam including EKG and Urinalysis.
- House calls as appropriate- up to 2 free visits a year. (After the second home visit, there will be a charge of $50).
- 24/7 mobile urgent care service. Call the office for more details.
** Other services and procedures are charged at an additional price. Please visit our pricing page for more details. **
Why would I pay a monthly fee for primary care? Is this concierge medicine?
The membership fee is better thought of as a more affordable and predictable way to access better primary care. For most members and employers, this approach, when combined with high-deductible health insurance or medical cost-sharing plan, leads to saving money, sometimes a lot of money, compared to traditional insurance models.
DPC is not concierge medicine per se but rather provides access to a concierge-level experience and services at a price designed to be affordable for people of all incomes, with or without insurance.
Do you have evidence that Direct Primary Care costs less?
According to research, in North Carolina, DPCs saved $1.28 million in health care claims in one year for 2000 patients. Less paperwork for doctors means more time to spend with patients as needed to manage medical conditions. More time means better access, which means fewer specialist referrals, hospital admissions, and ER visits. In insurance-based medical clinics, 43% of the day is spent on needless paperwork.
Could I file my own insurance for reimbursement of services?
Yes and no… Please read this whole section to know what the specific answer is for you.
In short, if you pay the monthly membership fee, the answer is no - you cannot seek reimbursement from your insurance since insurances process claims per date of service and not for a monthly service. The only exception may be for services you pay that are not included in the membership package. However, please continue to read…
If you chose the pay-per-visit option or if you are a member but have paid for services not included in the membership, then you may be eligible for insurance reimbursement as long as it is not Medicare or Medicaid.
If you have Medicare or Medicaid, you CANNOT file for reimbursement. Anne Brock has opt-out of Medicare and therefore her patients cannot seek reimbursement for services. Medicaid does not allow it as well.
However, if you have a commercial insurance plan, such as through your employer, or spouse or through the marketplace, then you may request an itemized receipt from our office that you can send it to your insurance. We do not guarantee that you will receive reimbursement as we are not contracted with any insurance companies; we are considered an out-of-network provider. If you would like to know more details about your specific situation, we advise you to call your insurance.
Are there any hidden fees or commitments? What if I decide to cancel?
There are no hidden fees, and we seek to provide transparent pricing for our membership and included services, as well as non-included services. All our prices can be found here. If, for some reason, there is a specialty lab or service not included in this list, we will give you the price before the service is rendered. We never bill you after your visit. We even seek to establish cash pricing options for services we refer out for, such as radiology, CT-Scans, MRI, or colon cancer screening.
You may cancel at any time with a 30-day notice; however, if you would like to re-initiate your membership within 6 months, you will be required to pay back the months that were not paid.
For members that cancel and then want to re-enroll after 6 months, there is a $150 re-initiation fee if availability allows.
Who can join Brock Family Care? How do I sign-up and get started? How do I book an appointment?
All patients 11 years old and up can join our practice. Becoming a patient is simple and easy; just call our office at (828)382-7282 to make an appointment, or you can make an appointment online by clicking here. Our office staff will send you the new patient forms online for you to fill out prior to your appointment. If you cannot complete the forms prior to your appointment, we would ask you to arrive 30 minutes prior to your appointment time to complete them at the office.
An important note is that we do not bill patients after the visit. Payment is due at the time of the visit. To learn more about our pricing, please click here.
After reading and understanding the membership payment model and you would like to enroll as a member prior to your appointment, you can do so here.
Can children become members of Brock Family Care? Do you offer women’s health?
Anne Brock specializes mainly in adults and children 11 years of age and up. She performs well-women physical exams, including pap smears, but she does not prescribe birth control pills/devices.
What existing medical conditions are you able to care for? How about mental health?
We treat a patient as a whole by working on lifestyle changes to keep patients healthy, thus preventing sickness and disease. We also manage chronic conditions. However, we focus on individualized healthcare, which means your care is personalized to meet your unique needs. We feel that everyone benefits from the time and comprehensive services we offer, and our memberships are not based on pre-existing conditions or level of health.
Our training affords us the ability to care for a full range of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, thyroid disease, allergies, autoimmune conditions, asthma, COPD, obesity, insomnia, anemia, kidney issues, arthritis, and complications of tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use, among others. We care for a wide range of mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, stress, bipolar, OCD, and ADHD, including prescribing medications when indicated.
How much time do I get with the provider at appointments?
In short, as much time as you need. Our shortest appointment time is 30 minutes, and some comprehensive appointments and treatments can vary from 1hr to 2hrs. But if you only need 10 minutes with the provider, that is fine too. We are dedicated to individualized healthcare. We become family – you get to know us, and we get to know you. We value long-lasting relationships, and we believe that by not only treating you when you are sick but working to keep you healthy produces a healthier outcome.
Is a membership at Brock Family Care an insurance or a substitute for health insurance?
No, we are neither health insurance nor an alternative to health insurance. And we recommend everyone to have health insurance or a medical cost-sharing plan to cover both unexpected and expensive medical costs. But having a membership with a Direct Primary Care provider like us reduces the need for urgent care services, mild emergency room visits and specialty care by 50% or more compared to those that have a traditional primary care provider.
What if I don’t have health insurance?
Our membership option is a great primary care option for those uninsured as we can manage between 70% to 90% of all your needs. However, we advise you to join a healthshare plan to cover catastrophes and expensive medical procedures. Thus, tailoring a better healthcare experience to our patients. Please visit Zion HealthShare or Sedera to learn more. If you are interested in joining either one of these healthshare communities, please let our office know as we provide a specific link to our patients to apply with the special pricing for DPC (Direct Primary Care) members. Or if you enroll as a new member to our practice, there will be an opportunity for you to sign up for these heathshares at the end of your enrollment process.
Does Brock Family Care partner with businesses and employers?
Yes, we partner with local and regional business owners looking to invest in the health and well-being of their employees and their businesses, with our memberships designed to fully support the wellness and primary care needs of your employees and their families.
Several self-insured employers that partner with DPCs around the country have reported a reduction in insurance claims due to the relationship and accessibility DPCs give to their employees, thus reducing Urgent Care and Emergency Room visits. Employers also report that having a relationship with DPC reduces workforce absenteeism and improves employee retention.
We can also connect you with benefit advisors who can help you tailor health plans that incorporate DPC memberships
If you are interested in providing this benefit to your employees, please contact our office at contact@brockfamilycare.com.
What are Brock Family Care’s regular office hours? What about after hours and weekends?
Our regular office hours are:
- Monday – 9 am – 5 pm
- Tuesday – 12 pm – 8 pm
- Wednesday – 9 am – 5 pm
- Thursday – 9 am – 5 pm
- Friday – CLOSED
All members have access to our provider and staff even after hours or on weekends for any urgent needs through text or voicemail. Texts and voicemails are returned within 24hrs or less, depending on the urgency of the need.
For a life-threatening emergency, our patients are advised to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Have additional questions? Let us know, and we’ll be happy to answer them.
Call us at (828) 382-7282 or send us a message through the chat box popup on the bottom right of this website.
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