a letter from dr. trembley
Dear Valued Patients,
I have appreciated the opportunity to be your family physician and to care for the families of Holbrook since 1990.
In recent years, I have become increasingly concerned about the way insurance paperwork and other bureaucratic hassles have taken away the time and energy I could have devoted to caring for patients. I’m sure it has been frustrating for you to feel rushed during an office visit or to wait for a response when you have called for a medication refill or because of another concern. I know these things have frustrated me.
And I think I’ve found the answer to our problem.
Direct Primary Care
What is Direct Primary Care?
Direct Primary Care allows doctors to spend more time with patients, helps patients stay in closer contact with their providers and charges a modest monthly fee instead of going through insurance companies. It has been successful for other family physicians and their patients.
As part of the upcoming change, my practice will begin charging a monthly fee that will provide almost all the care you are used to getting from me. Because the practice won’t be dealing with insurance companies anymore, we won’t charge you visit copayments and we won’t bill you separately (except for the cost of services or medical equipment that aren’t included in the monthly fee).
What does this new way of practicing mean for you?
- You can still continue to have me as your Harbor Medical Associates doctor until September 30th, 2017.
- If you sign up for Direct Primary Care, which is what I will be practicing from October 1st, 2017 onward, you can have me as your doctor in the future. You can learn more and sign up here,
- I will be holding an open house to explain more about Direct Primary Care in the coming weeks before October 1st, 2017. Those dates are further below.
What are the benefits of Direct Primary Care for YOU?
Twelve visits a year are covered, up to 60 minutes per visit. That means I get to spend more time with you, helping you get and stay healthy, and you spend less time dealing with insurance companies.
No copayments. Since we are no longer dealing with insurance, we can get rid of this.
Cheaper medicines. We are still working on this but we will provide you with information about Direct Primary Care-friendly pharmacies that offer reduced rates to patients.
Less waiting time for you to see me, often with same-day and next-day visits available, and quicker refills for prescriptions too
More availability for you. You can now reach me through email, phone, and even text messages if you need to.
I also want to bring on and train younger doctors to carry on our work together and to continue to provide excellent care at this site.
You will also be glad to know that the monthly fee will include an annual physical that will last 30 to 60 minutes so that we can spend time together determining how to maintain your healthy choices and how to work on areas that need improvement. In addition, your office visits will be longer and less rushed, giving us plenty of time to address issues concerning your health and wellbeing.
Since the monthly fee only includes care we can deliver at my office, it’s important for you to maintain health insurance coverage for care you may get else-where. Some insurance companies are starting to offer a new kind of insurance policy that specifically covers care from sub specialists and hospitals; it’s called a “wraparound” policy. If your insurance company offers this type of policy, you might be able to change policies and save money on premiums. Although only a few insurance companies currently offer a wraparound policy there is already evidence that this type of policy should become more common in the future. For your convenience, my staff will be able to provide the names of some insurance companies that provide wraparound policies (although please bear in mind that we are an independent practice and are not affiliated with those organizations).
You may want to check with your employer to find out whether part of your employer’s contribution to your health insurance premiums can go toward my practice’s monthly fee. Some employers have worked with this new Direct Primary Care model and understand how it can improve overall health and well-being. If you have any questions or would like to talk about this change, please feel free to call or email me.
I look forward to providing you the care you expect and deserve.
If you have any questions, please call the office at 781-767-0910.
Sincerely,
Michael Tremblay D.O.
