What is direct primary care?

Direct primary care is a healthcare model that allows us to put the patient first.

This allows us to take time to intake the patient story and come up with a personalized patient plan of care.

-less rushed appointments

-personalized care

-being available different times of day via a convenient HIPPA compliant messaging system.

The provider – patient relationship is just as the name suggest it’s Direct. We work directly with you, the patient.

Family First Health- is a hybrid model of primary care, we accept insurance- and also cash, HSA, monthly membership, so an added membership to insurance creates a concierge service

Who can join direct primary care?

Anyone!

Family First health primary care is ideal for many different groups of people, including:

• People with out of network cost large deductible, insurance policies or catastrophic plans, as these products typically do not pay for outpatient visits.

• People who utilize a health savings account (HSA), which can be used to pay your monthly membership fees.

• People without insurance.

• People with complex medical histories typically requiring frequent medical visits and needing more time with their physician.

• People who value wellness and want to stay healthy. We can see you for lifestyle issues, (stress, reduction, sleep, and much more without time pressure).

Why the monthly membership fee?

The affordable monthly membership allows us to provide you with the highest quality of care possible. It covers a wide variety of routine health services and allows Family First health to negotiate low prices for other services. You may need such things as labs medications and imaging.

I’m healthy. Why would I pay a monthly membership fee when I usually don’t need a primary care provider?

Your Health. The focus of primary care providers is to keep you healthy and screen for preventable and treatable diseases. We do a lot of nutrition and weight, loss, counseling, depression, and anxiety, treatment, annual exams and so much more. There is a massive health benefit of having someone specialized and preventative medicine working with you throughout the year.

Cost Savings. Traditional healthcare costs – premiums, co-pays, deductibles, etc. – continue to rise rapidly, placing a heavy burden on individuals and families. Family First Health provides transparent, discounted pricing. We are readily available to our patients, helping you avoid costly emergency departments at urgent care visits. We also have relationships with vendors that provide access to imaging, medication’s, labs.

Is there a long-term commitment to sign up?

Not at all.

We value our long-lasting relationship with our patients and understand that things come up. We only ask that you provide a written notice of 30 days and plans to go month-to-month, this gives us time to allow other patients availability, as we have a certain number of members, we can provide this level of care to.

Is this the same thing as health insurance?

Your membership covers your primary care needs, but it is not the same thing as health insurance.

We recommend (but do not require) our members to obtain health insurance to cover more expensive healthcare needs such as surgeries or unavoidable ER visits, which is typical typically done with things like higher deductible. Catastrophic plan. Medical cost sharing programs are often a good match as well.

What if I have Medicare?

The short answer is yes, we can still see you!

However, Medicare has very strict regulations regarding direct primary care practices that limit our ability to provide the best care.

We are currently seeing Medicare patients-but do not bill these patients due to Medicare’s restrictions.

We do bill insurance for the visit yet not full tests may be ordered due their restrictions.

What if I need medical care after hours or while I’m traveling?

If you require medical care after normal office hours, you have the ability to contact through Family First house primary portal via phone, email, text or a virtual visit.

However, if you need to be seen by a provider while you are away from home, we can assist in finding a provider for you and can order prescriptions from the pharmacy near you.

What if I need specialist care?

You can use your insurance for specialty care. If specialist care is needed, we will discuss options with you and refer you to a specialist that meets your individual needs, taking financial concern into account.

Can local businesses partner with Family First health to provide healthcare for their employees?

Absolutely! 

Across the country, many businesses, large and small, our partnering with the right primary care offices to save money while providing high-quality care to their employees.

There have been numerous studies showing more than 20% savings to businesses with the use of direct primary care models. We believe the Direct primary care model provides enormous benefit and we love working with local businesses to help provide excellent healthcare to their employees and affordable cost.

Please contact us if you are interested in more information. contact@ffhealthfl.com