Direct Primary Care (DPC) is becoming more popular and an affordable option at this time when health insurance is getting more and more expensive and the healthcare departments make patients wait for weeks and months to see the doctor for their health concerns. This waiting time not only jeopardizes the patients’ lives, and wastes their precious time but also they have to endure the excruciating pain until the day of their appointment.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is rather a new option and has almost all the solutions for modern healthcare problems. This article is useful for people who are thinking of buying insurance policies and want to know more about which option to choose. We will take you through the benefits and drawbacks of both options to make it easier for you to understand Direct Primary Care (DPC) and traditional healthcare and choose what works best for you. See more.

Direct Primary Care

It strengthens the doctors’ and patients’ control over healthcare decisions. They omit the insurers from the equation and are a great alternative for physicians to fee-for-service insurance billing. It charges the patients monthly, or annual fees for almost all of the basic care services i.e.,

  • Laboratory Services
  • Consultation Services
  • Care Coordination Services
  • Clinical Services Services
  • Other Comprehensive Care Management Services 

It is a better option for regular patients because there are comparatively less patients for doctors to handle spending more time with the patients which can result in lesser problems in their health in the future. However, you will still need additional health insurance coverage for the healthcare outside Direct Primary Care (DPC).

Benefits of Direct Primary Care (DPC)

There are a number of benefits of Direct Primary Care (DPC) that makes it a more affordable and better option than traditional healthcare.

  • Healthy Employees

Healthier employees means a more productive environment. Research suggests that people under Direct Primary Care (DPC) spend 30 days less in the hospital as they spend more time with their doctors diagnosing their diseases and problems beforehand.

  • Transparency

The rates and charges of healthcare are set. You will already know which service will cost you how much as you pay a monthly or quarterly fee. You can always have primary care under your budget and whenever you want.

  • Improved Provider/Patient Relationship

As the employees and doctors spend more time with the patients, they know more about the patient’s history and their early diagnosis and other issues that might go unnoticed if you use traditional healthcare insurance.

  • No Insurance Required

You don’t need to have healthcare insurance to enroll in Direct Primary Care (DPC). Most of the care services are covered in Direct Primary Care (DPC). For additional coverage you are always advised to have healthcare insurance however it will not cost you much because most of the healthcare services are already covered under your Direct Primary Care (DPC) membership.

  • Affordable ER and Urgent Care

You reduce your healthcare costs up to 70% under Direct Primary Care (DPC) than traditional Health insurance premiums. You will have 24/7 urgent care under the monthly fees that you pay for your Direct Primary Care (DPC) membership.

In addition to the advantages above, Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a very good option for businesses to retain talented employees, saving a lot of costs in the long run.

Traditional Healthcare Insurance

A type of insurance that pays for all of your health problems, needs, other products and services; including seeing any specialists or paying for any type of surgery. In developed countries like the United States, it is a must-have insurance policy.

Under traditional health insurance, you can see your primary care doctor, about your regular checkups, concerns and other health issues. If you have low-income insurance, you have less command over your healthcare decisions than the high-income insurance plans.

Benefits of Traditional Healthcare Insurance

There are a number of prominent benefits of the traditional insurance policy that may convince you to have it if you need it for your health issues and concerns.

  • Insurance Maturity

If you have paid all of your insurance premiums and didn’t need much to spend on your health, you get to receive a lump sum amount when your health insurance plan matures.

  • Risks Covered

If you have healthcare insurance, all of your primary and secondary healthcare costs are covered by this insurance plan and you don’t have to pay extra for your health and health services saving you a lot of extra cost. All of the costs of seeing specialists and getting surgeries are covered under traditional insurance policy.

  • Tax Benefits

The amount you pay for your health in that traditional healthcare insurance policy is tax deductible. It reduces your taxes under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

Drawbacks of Traditional Healthcare Insurance

Below drawbacks makes the members give it a second thought to buy a traditional healthcare insurance plan.

  • Expensive

The health insurance policy is expensive and you will have to pay premiums each month to be eligible for the healthcare services. You will have to pay extra for copays and other hidden expenses.

  • Limited Decision-Making Power

Patients will be assigned physicians without even meeting them personally. You have the least decision making power when it comes to changing physicians if you have a lower-income insurance plan.

  • Lengthy Waiting List

If you want to see your physician for regular checkups and health concerns, you will have to take an appointment. You will be put on a long waiting list. You may have to wait for weeks or months to see your doctor.This impacts the health and endangers patients’ conditions.

Which one is better?

If you want to be independent in making your medical decisions, want to have more one-to-one time with your doctor, pay frequent visits to your doctor and have quality primary care, you should definitely go for a Direct Primary Care (DPC). Nevertheless, you will still be encouraged to have a traditional healthcare insurance to cover the costs of the healthcare services that Direct Primary Care (DPC) does not offer to cover.

On the other hand, if paying high insurance premiums for your health does not bother you, traditional insurance policy also does not hurt. You will have all of your basic and secondary healthcare needs covered including highly paid specialists and surgeons for surgeries. If you do not visit your doctor more than twice or thrice a year, it is a good option. And if you pay all of your insurance premiums you win a jackpot of lump sum amount that you have been paying through your premiums, when the insurance policy expires.

Conclusion

Healthcare is one of the most important aspects of anyone’s life. So, if you have to choose between the Direct Primary Care (DPC) and traditional healthcare model, it will totally depend on your personal preference and the circumstances you are in.

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