 Hello everyone, and welcome to 2021!
It seems fair to say that the hard times are not yet behind us. With that in mind, let us focus on some self care techniques to help us all get through the dark days of winter. This month we’ll discuss calming; next month, reframing or shifting our perspective; and in the third installment, we’ll look at seeking out and increasing joyfulness. Click below to read more! Click to watch Dr Brie's 2nd Facebook Live Video about the COVID-19 Vaccine As of February 8, Colorado have moved to Phase 1B2. Coloradans age 65 and up and PK-12 educators and staff are eligible in addition to those in previous groups. Check our Members Page for info on where to get the vaccine Uninsured? You've got options! Did you know that the Connect for Health Colorado has re-opened the insurance health exchange to allow those that are uninsured to find coverage now through May 15, 2021. Perhaps you are looking for something different? A non-insurance based option to help with bigger medical costs? We know that navigating health care can be complicated and expensive. ACCESS+ from @Sedera offers a refreshingly different approach for managing large healthcare costs free of third-parties and networks. Medical Cost Sharing allows you to enjoy a direct relationship with your medical providers while taking control of your costs. Sedera is available to anyone. You don't need to be a member of our practice. Be a part of something bigger today. Check out Sedera Medical Cost Sharing and ask Alison for details. Click to read the full newsletter
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 Watch Dr Brie's COVID-19 Vaccine
Facebook Live Video from 12/28/20 The Video Reviews Side effects: Relief :) Immediate reactions Who shouldn't get one Anaphylaxis What's in it & fetal cells Development & how it works Efficacy Masks after vaccination Autoimmune conditions Distribution phases Please visit the DOPC COVID-19 How-To section on our Members page to stay up-to-date on when and how you can get the vaccine  How We've Stayed In Line with Our Vision
A Year-in-Review Letter from Dr Brie What a year 2020 has been! It will go down in the history books for sure! How we choose to reflect on it is entirely up to our perspective. Here’s a little look back from the perspective of YOUR doctor, a mom, and a business owner. First of all, thank you! There is absolutely no way we would be here without our forward thinking members who wanted to approach their health care in an innovative way. It reminds me how we have practiced in line with our vision: Re-envision health+care Provide service Model Balance Click to read our full newsletter We’d love to hear YOUR input! Please fill out our Annual Member Survey, if you haven't already  We want to hear what you think about us!
Please take our Member Satisfaction Survey Every year, we collect data to be sure that we are meeting the needs of our patients and members Please help us do that by filling out this survey Wondering if there are different options for health coverage for 2021!? Watch Dr Brie's Facebook Live Video to find out more and read our newsletter to explore your options COVID Testing Dates - week of 12/21/20 While we do not recommend that you travel or see friends and family outside of your household for the holidays, we want to offer you TWO testing options next week that can make it safer if you are planning to see those you love. Monday, 12/21 1:30 pm - 3:00pm and Wednesday, 12/23 4:00pm - 5:00pm Prices: Member COVID Consultation (rapid test included, if indicated) - $95 LabCorp send out swab* (results in 2-4 days) - $50 with insurance/$150 self pay *must be done Mon, 12/21 to get results by 12/23-24 We are offering testing to non-members, please contact us for pricing Let us know in the portal if you'd like to sign up for one of those times COVID Vaccine Questions? Dr Brie will be doing a Facebook Live event about the new COVID vaccine in the next few weeks. If you have questions about the vaccine for her address in her live event, please email them to Alison. Click to read our newsletter Why Do They call it "Middle" Age?
Midlife Weight Gain Explained by Gretchen Frey, MD In over 30 years of practice, I think the number one complaint I have heard from female patients over 40 is gradual weight gain. This most often happens around the perimenopause (roughly age 45-55), and it is nearly universal. No matter how active, fit, or historically thin a woman may have been (and many of us have not been especially active or thin), somewhere in this window the weight will begin to increase, and it all seems to gather at the waist rather than on the hips as we’re used to seeing. I decided when this happened to me that it must be the true meaning of “middle” age! Member Satisfaction Survey Every year, we collect data to be sure that we are meeting the needs of our patients and members Please help us do that by filling out this survey DOPC Giving Tree & Scholarship Memberships The Giving Tree has been in action at DOPC since December 2018 thanks to a generous pair of members that set the idea in motion. If you are in a position to help others financially, we ask that you consider making a one-time or on-going donation to our DOPC Giving Tree or gift a membership to a friend or family member. Click to read our full newsletter! Watch Dr Brie's Facebook Live Video for more detail See Dr Brie's Diagrams and explanations below  Previously, we were asked to quarantine for 14 days after a close contact exposure. 14 days is still the *GOLD STANDARD* but it can be shorter under these circumstances:
A COVID Exposure or Close Contact is defined as... Contact to a person with COVID or positive test for cumulative 15 minutes in a 24 hours period inside or outside masked or unmasked.  If you have COVID or have a positive test result, the quarantine is still the same.
Please isolate yourself for 10 days at least. You must have been fever free for at least 24 hours to end your 10 day isolation. If you still have a fever at 10 days, you are still shedding the virus and must stay isolated until you have no fever for 24 hours.  #GivingTuesday
DOPC Giving Tree & Scholarship Memberships We are still lingering in a period of time when people in the service industry and small businesses are greatly impacted. People on the edge of their finances find Direct Primary Care because they can not afford the high cost of health insurance. This dangerous combination has many of our patients in a place where they will soon need to consider cutting off their only lifeline to care and medications. Many of YOU want to DO SOMETHING TO HELP! If you are in a position to help others financially, we ask that you consider making a one-time or on-going donation to our DOPC Giving Tree or gift a membership to a friend or family member! The Giving Tree has been in action at DOPC since December 2018. It is an internal program where some of our clients donate money to help others in need. The Giving Tree funds support scholarship memberships, medications, and provide labs or flu shots to some our members suffering from financial hardship. All funds are tracked internally, all recipients must apply and show financial need. It is not a tax deductible donation, however, as we do not have non profit status. EMAIL US IF YOU WANT TO PITCH IN! If you are experiencing sudden financial distress, please reach out to us. We are currently offering a 3 month discount on our membership down to $35/month. You can apply to be a recipient of the Giving Tree donations by sending us a secure message in the portal. Also, if you are a current member in a financial crisis know that you might now qualify for MEDICAID. We will re-open to new Medicaid members for our current patients that qualify but we require you inform us right away when you apply and are accepted.  Click to watch Dr Brie's Facebook Live video discussion on how to manage COVID-19 stress this winter Check out these resources she shared below
DPC Math by Dr Brie Every year, I make sure that Direct Primary Care (DPC) makes the most financial sense for your healthcare dollars. It is that time of year again...Open Enrollment. This year, more than any other, it is important to have a doctor in your corner. Many choose Direct Osteopathic Primary Care (DOPC) as their DPC provider because of our holistic, relationship-based, high-quality primary care. With simple math, let me show you how pairing DOPC with a high deductible plan or health share makes the most financial sense, too! COVID-19 is hard enough to handle, find a health care solution that is easy. This year I am amazed... Families can save $450-$715 a month by choosing Direct Primary Care partnered with a high deductible plan or a health share! Read more here... We have flu shots! We are offering an appointment-based, drive-up Flu Clinic EVERY Wednesday in November, 1:30pm - 3:30pm We can determine if your insurance covers vaccinations and bill directly in many cases, including with Medicaid. Uninsured, no worries! Costs are range from $32 - $62 depending on age - ask us for details. We can also do shots for family members. Insurance billing available or add $10 for self pay. Let us know in the portal which Wednesday you want to come! COVID Corner: Here's is a great graphic to help understand what to do when you are sick or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. As always, please send us a portal message with non-urgent questions or call with URGENT concerns (press option 1). Image credit: Dr Husney of Living Well Family Medicine  Read the full newsletter here
 Every year, I make sure that Direct Primary Care (DPC) makes the most financial sense for your healthcare dollars. It is that time again, open enrollment. This year, more than any other, it is important to have a doctor in your corner. Many choose Direct Osteopathic Primary Care (DOPC) as their DPC provider because of our relationship based, holistic and high quality primary care. With simple math, let me show you how pairing DOPC with a high deductible plan or health share makes the most financial sense too! COVID-19 is hard enough to handle, find a health care solution that is easy. This year I am amazed...families can save $450-$715 a month by choosing Direct Primary Care partnered with a high deductible plan or a health share! Check out the graph with rate comparisons from the 2020 Colorado Health Exchange. For a family of four, health care costs can add up. If you choose DOPC PLUS a high deductible plan can save your family of four $450 a month! If you want to get innovative, pair your DOPC membership with Sedera Medical Cost Sharing. With Sedera, an alternative to traditional insurance, your family of four saves $715 a month. That is $8,578 a year worth of savings!  What if you are a single 60 year old female looking for coverage? I have found that our 50-64 year old crowd often has the highest premiums. While in Colorado, our active patients that are 50-64 are some of my healthiest patients! If you own a small business, buy your insurance on the exchange or are thinking of rolling the dice without the high cost of monthly premiums, think again. There are other solutions!  Let's review: WHY choose Direct Primary Care for you and your family to lower your out of pocket monthly costs?
Let's talk for a moment on medical cost sharing. The company Sedera has been working great for our clients. Here is the fine print on Sedera: “MEDICAL COST SHARING (MCS) IS AN INNOVATIVE NON-INSURANCE SOLUTION TO MANAGE LARGE MEDICAL COSTS. OUR MEMBERS COMMIT TO LEADING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND VOLUNTARILY CONTRIBUTING TO ONE ANOTHER’S LARGE AND UNEXPECTED MEDICAL EXPENSES. IN DOING SO, THEY ARE ABLE TO REDUCE ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS AND BE IN CHARGE OF THEIR OWN HEALTH CARE DECISIONS.” How does it work? A health share is great for healthy, active adults and families that are willing to pay cash for health care services and negotiate to find the lowest cost option on their own. Having a community to share your larger medical costs helps when you encounter high cost care (like going to the hospital). You decide when Sedera costs are shareable - after you have paid $500 to $5000 out of pocket as your initial “unshareable” amount. This is not a deductible. Here is what Sedera says: “The Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA) is the amount you pay before your medical Need is eligible for sharing. A Need is defined as one or more medical expenses caused by a single accident or illness.” What is interesting about this option: when you choose the IUA of $500 you have three health needs annually (5 for a family) before you can submit all of your larger medical expenses to share with Sedera’s cost sharing community at 100%. People will often think of that as a $1500 deductible, which it is not. Here’s why. In a traditional model, you can’t touch a penny of your insurance “coverage” until you have spent the exact $ amount of your deductible. Then insurance “kicks in” but there continue to be co-pays and “co-insurance” a great way of sending sneaky, bewildering medical bills. With a health share, first off YOU are paying the bills and negotiating directly to the lowest cash rate, so you know when costs are coming. When you have a DPC like us, we help you find the lowest rates. We are your cost conscious health care shoppers. We help you find the most affordable referrals, imaging and offer the best rates you could ever find on routine lab testing. Let's look at an example: Sally goes skiing and hurts her knee. She ends up at the clinic at the ski resort. They do xrays, and an evaluation, we will estimate this visit at $500. Then, Sally has to see a primary care doctor for her knee a few days later as it is still hurting. We estimate this office visit would be $200 (if she had DOPC, the visit is free with monthly membership of $75). Next, Sally has to have an MRI. Insurance might “discount” this with their negotiated rate to $600-$1000. (With DOPC’s help, we can find you an MRI for $300-$500!) Next, Sally has to see an orthopedic surgeon - yikes! Now the costs are soaring, $300-500 for the office visit and countless more if she needs surgery. Up to now she has paid ~$1300 out of pocket - finally her insurance might start kicking in! If Sally had Sedera and had chosen her initial unshareable amount to be $500 her out of pocket cost would be $500 for this health event and all other charges related to this health event would be shareable with the Sedera community at 100%. Even if she needed surgery, she would only pay the IUA of $500. Also, the shareable costs on the knee extend through the length of that medical concern - so if Sally hurt her knee in December, she does not have to start all over with out of pocket costs the very next month. How cool is that?! What does that mean for you? If you change your mindset and realize that healthcare is cheaper with cash, then Direct Osteopathic Primary Care + Sedera is for you. If you want to stay with traditional insurance, choose a high deductible plan. Pair this with Direct Osteopathic Primary Care to keep your out of pocket costs low. Save your insurance for a “collision” with the healthcare industry. For the rest, we are here to help! Get on the direct primary care bandwagon, it just makes sense. Our Vision at Direct Osteopathic Primary Care: RE-ENVISION HEALTH+CAREPROVIDE SERVICEMODEL BALANCEPlease share this article for anyone who might need us. Friends don’t let friends make bad decisions with healthcare dollars. |
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August 2021
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