Frequently Asked Questions
- 1. What is Direct Primary Care?
- 2. I’ve heard of concierge medicine. Is it the same as Direct Primary Care?
- 3. My child is really healthy and only sees the pediatrician for well visits. What’s the benefit of paying a monthly fee for that?
- 4. What is included with your Direct Primary Care Telemedicine membership?
- 5. What is not included with your membership?
- 6. How Is My Membership Billed?
- 7. Can I pay the membership fee with my HSA, FSA, or HRA account?
- 8. Is this Health Insurance?
- 9. Does InDependence Pediatrics accept health insurance?
- 10. Do I Need Health Insurance?
- 11. Do you do house calls?
- 12. What happens if my child needs to go to the hospital or see a specialist?
- 13. Will Dr. Husmann see my child if they are in the ER or admitted to the hospital?
- 14. What if my child gets sick after hours?
- 15. What if my family is on vacation?
- 16. What happens when Dr. Husmann is on vacation or has an emergency and is out of the office?
- 17. What Is Your Position On Vaccines?
- 18. Do you administer vaccines?
- 19. Can I Enroll (sign my baby up) Before My Child Is Born?
1. What is Direct Primary Care?
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is the solution to our broken healthcare system. DPC is an innovative payment model that provides high-quality primary care with an affordable monthly membership fee and no third-party billing. The defining element of DPC is an enduring and trusting relationship between a patient and a physician. Patients have extraordinary access to their physician for a simple monthly fee, and physicians are accountable first and foremost to their patients.
2. I’ve heard of concierge medicine. Is it the same as Direct Primary Care?
The terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Concierge medicine is usually very expensive membership-based primary care that is only affordable to the wealthiest people, and they often bill insurance for many of their services. Direct Primary Care is structured to be affordable to all patients and can save you money in the long run. Direct Primary Care clinics don’t accept insurance, rather they choose to work directly for the patient, providing wholesale labs, wholesale radiology, many free procedures, and other cost savings along the way.
3. My child is really healthy and only sees the pediatrician for well visits. What’s the benefit of paying a monthly fee for that?
Life happens. During those unpredictable moments the peace of mind that comes from having a pediatrician that knows your child and your family’s individual needs can be priceless. As a member, you can contact Dr. Husmann directly, who knows your child’s health situation, and receive personalized advice—potentially avoiding an expensive visit to the ER or Urgent Care. One Urgent Care visit can be equivalent to months of personalized pediatric care at InDependence Pediatrics. We also strive to save you time and hassle, as we partner with you to keep your children as healthy as possible.
4. What is included with your Direct Primary Care Telemedicine membership?
Your membership covers video visits, phone consultations, text messaging, and emailing. Your doctor will be on call for you via these means. Our goal is to make your membership more valuable to you than the money you spend on it.
5. What is not included with your membership?
Your membership DOES NOT cover in-person visits, in office labs or procedures, third-party labs or labs required outside the clinic, medications, imaging/radiology, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, urgent care visits, ambulance/transport costs, specialist visits, or services rendered by providers outside our practice. Many of these things will be covered by your insurance or health-sharing plan.
6. How Is My Membership Billed?
Membership fees are charged monthly to your bank account (preferred) or to your credit/debit card. Membership fees will be collected on a day each month that you designate.
7. Can I pay the membership fee with my HSA, FSA, or HRA account?
We accept HSA, FSA, and HRA card payments similar to any other debit/credit card payment. You should also check with your human resources department or personal accountant to confirm that membership payments are eligible.
8. Is this health insurance?
A membership with InDependence Pediatrics is not considered health insurance for your child.
9. Does InDependence Pediatrics accept health insurance?
InDependence Pediatrics does not accept health insurance for membership fees or any of its services. Because of this, we work directly for you the patient, and this preserves the doctor-patient relationship and trust. Of course, we will help coordinate any care that you receive outside of our practice for which you might use your health insurance. You will never receive any surprise bills from InDependence Pediatrics.
10. Do I Need Health Insurance?
We strongly recommend that patients maintain health insurance coverage in the event your child has an unexpected health care need that will require specialist services, in-depth workup, an emergency room visit, or hospitalization. We suggest either a PPO plan, a high-deductible health insurance plan, or a health sharing ministry. Make sure you pick a plan that allows you to choose your own doctor and that allows your doctor to make referrals and coordinate care without having to be “in-network.” Most HMO plans do not allow this and are not best for use with a DPC membership.
11. Do you do house calls?
Due to the limited number of days per month that Dr. Husmann will offer clinic visits, we can sadly no longer promise the availability of house calls.
12. What happens if my child needs to go to the hospital or see a specialist?
In providing superb care with unprecedented access, we seek to prevent or reduce hospitalizations and specialty referrals. In instances where those types of care are required, we will certainly continue to work with your preferred hospital during your stay as well as work closely with any specialists. In some cases, depending on the level of care and the sort of expertise required, we may rely on those specialists to manage your ongoing treatment.
13. Will Dr. Husmann see my child if they are in the ER or admitted to the hospital?
Children admitted to the hospital or seen through the emergency department will be cared for by their respective specialists, ER doctor, or hospitalist physician. He will communicate with them to plan for management once your child is discharged.
14. What if my child gets sick after hours?
We know that illness doesn’t respect traditional office hours. If your child is ill,
you can call or text Dr. Husmann. You will get his cell phone number when you
become a member. He does have a family, however, and we ask that you try to
keep all non-urgent communication to business hours.
15. What if my family is on vacation?
This is actually one of the great benefits of membership. We will do our best to help you from afar via video visit or phone/text/email to hopefully avoid any unnecessary disruption of your vacation. Depending on the nature of the illness, your child might still need to be seen locally for further evaluation or treatment.
16. What happens when Dr. Husmann is on vacation or has an emergency and is out of the office?
Dr. Husmann will make every effort to communicate any planned vacations or time out of the office at least 1 month in advance. At these times, if Dr. Husmann is not available by phone/text/email, then care will be arranged with a covering physician. In some cases, though, you may need to visit an urgent care clinic or emergency room.
17. What Is Your Position On Vaccines?
The most important conviction Dr. Husmann has about vaccinations is that every family and patient should have the freedom to make these decisions after being fully informed and without any coercion or manipulation. We welcome families who do not desire to vaccinate or who desire to follow an alternative vaccine schedule. We strongly recommend that none of our patients get the Covid shot. We are always happy to talk further about these very important and complex health decisions.
18. Do you administer vaccines?
At this point, we do not offer vaccines in our practice. If in consultation with Dr. Husmann your child needs any particular vaccines, we will help you find the best place to receive them.
19. Can I Enroll (sign my baby up) Before My Child Is Born?
All memberships are confirmed personally before they become active and you can set a future start date for membership. You may use whatever name you wish at the time of enrollment and we will confirm it at the time of your child’s birth before activating your membership. We love newborns and prefer to see them within 2-3 days after birth.
