Direct Primary Care: A Healthy Alternative
By: Nicholas J. Beaulieu, M.D.
Dr. Nick Beaulieu
Changes in our health care system are impacting the patient/physician experience, and future demands will further challenge your ability to access preferred providers. Many new options, including those available through healthcare.gov, may not enable your continued access to providers of choice, as many physicians are opting out of the new government sponsored plans.
With the March 31st deadline of the individual mandate for health care coverage required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all Americans not enrolled in compliant “minimum essential” coverage will be subject to annual penalties assessed with federal income tax returns.
Dr. Beaulieu and Amy Hatfield, PA.
There is a general movement toward greater financial efficiency in the health care marketplace. Direct primary care is an emerging care model that removes the insurance “middleman” from your primary care provider relationship. On a much larger scale, think Kaiser Permanente and, more recently in greater Atlanta, the Piedmont Wellstar Health Plan, designed to exclude a third-party insurance company. With direct primary care in a local, independent practice, physicians can remain truly invested in their patients’ health and evade the corporatization of medicine.
Direct primary care offers primary, preventive and chronic care and ensures easy and timely access to your primary care provider. Routine primary care is provided without the administrative burden of insurance approvals, filings and claims. Many direct primary care physician practices offer a membership program that delivers numerous benefits to those who join.
HealthAlliance, a direct primary care membership program brought to you by Highland Urgent Care and Family Medicine (HUCFM), is a fresh, affordable alternative to the new health plans and coverage now required by the ACA. HUCFM is a local, trusted and independently owned physician practice that has served this community for more than 10 years with an exceptional staff of board certified physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
When combined with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), HealthAlliance membership offers a cost-effective option that will satisfy the ACA individual mandate. An HDHP is a lower premium plan specifically designed to cover unpredictable events outside the scope of primary care, including specialty care and hospitalizations.
Primary care is the foundation of good health and key to the prevention of disease and disability. It includes preventive care, treatment of acute and chronic illness, routine treatment of common injuries and conditions, and ongoing health maintenance. HealthAlliance is a source for the care you need at an affordable price. Visit the HealthAlliance website to learn more.
Highland Urgent Care and Family Medicine / HealthAlliance
920 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306
404-815-1957