HEALTH INSURANCE
We do not accept any health insurance and have opted out of Medicare. The model of medical care covered by most insurance is definitely “disease care,” with appointments focused on prescriptions and financial disincentives for not following official guidelines (vaccinations, colonoscopies, and other issues not relevant to this practice). This fits very poorly with a functional approach.
If your insurance reimburses you for out-of-network care, we can help by providing you with a superbill for completed visits and you may submit it for reimbursement.
We try to reduce costs for you in the following ways:
The question for you is whether the benefit you are hoping to obtain from this approach is worth the cost to your time, energy, and finances.
COVID
All visits are still virtual, due to the fact that a large percentage of Covid infections come from asymptomatic people at this point in the pandemic. My patients, some of whom are at high risk for post-viral illness (or have a post-viral illness), do not want to take a chance to catch any virus while working with me to improve their health. I think Zoom is better than wearing masks, though I admit not by much.
BILLING DETAILS
Our initial contact is usually on the phone, and relatively short (25-30 minutes) and less expensive than a true medical visit ($100). The goal for me is to hear a broad outline of what you are experiencing and what your health goals are, so I can describe how I would address your issues and why.
Please be prepared to access the link we will send you and enter your credit card information. Our payment platform uses Stripe which is considered a quality payment processor.
PLEASE NOTE: Our payment processor may ask you to sign a PHI waiver, which allows them to email you a confirmation of your payment when the charge goes through. If you don’t sign this waiver, the charges we put through your account won’t result in any confirmation emails.
FIRST MEDICAL VISIT
The next step in working together is the comprehensive review of your medical and life history, the “First Medical Visit.” This visit usually lasts 90 minutes (cost is pro-rated $600/hour). Please complete online questionnaires ahead of the visit.
PLEASE NOTE: Whenever the waiting list exceeds 2 months, in order to reduce wait times for new patient appointments, we require a $500 deposit at the time of booking the first medical visit, and a 2-week notice for cancellation in order to refund this deposit if needed. Follow up visits are more flexible.
At the end of this first medical visit, we provide you with several recommendations, including supplements, diet and exercise or other recommendations, and we set up testing that will allow us to move forward.
SUBSEQUENT FOLLOW UP
The first follow up visit occurs about 3-5 weeks after the first medical visit. We review the steps you tried to implement, and how things went for you. We also review available lab results if available, and make additional recommendations.
We also usually request that you sign up for a $400/month intensive tier agreement. At this tier, you agree to have monthly 30-45 minute appointments for a few months, basically as long as you feel they are valuable to maintain momentum and to keep moving forward in your treatment. Most patients stay in this tier anywhere from 4 months to 12 months. This tier also comes with full supplement discount (35% off the list price on Fullscript) and a 20% discount on face-to-face visits in addition to the monthly visits if they are needed. We provide email communication for clarification of issues discussed during appointments.
Subsequent follow up visits will be similar to the second follow up visit.
PLEASE NOTE: Sometimes patients miss a monthly appointment. While we try to give you good value for your payments, irregular appointments can make it hard to assign payments to visits for the purposes of insurance reimbursement.
You then graduate, if desired, from the Intensive Tier to a Maintenance Membership, $49/month. A membership is required if there are medications you want me to continue to prescribe for you. At this membership level (membership costs cannot be reimbursed by insurance) you get 20% off any follow up visits, and 20% off supplements.
ONGOING PATIENTS
Once you reach your goals or have been in the Intensive Tier for at least 4 months, you can sign up for the “Maintenance Membership“ ($49 monthly) so you can stay connected to the practice, including receiving prescription refills if needed, and a 20% discount on appointments.
If you do not want to sign up for a membership, you can still pay for individual appointments ($600/hour). We request you plan for an hour-long visit if you have not been seen in the last year.
We do not accept any health insurance and have opted out of Medicare. The model of medical care covered by most insurance is definitely “disease care,” with appointments focused on prescriptions and financial disincentives for not following official guidelines (vaccinations, colonoscopies, and other issues not relevant to this practice). This fits very poorly with a functional approach.
If your insurance reimburses you for out-of-network care, we can help by providing you with a superbill for completed visits and you may submit it for reimbursement.
We try to reduce costs for you in the following ways:
- we do not profit from the sale of supplements during active treatment
- we use discounted laboratory testing where available
- we are happy to rank tests and supplements by order of importance so you know which ones to prioritize
The question for you is whether the benefit you are hoping to obtain from this approach is worth the cost to your time, energy, and finances.
COVID
All visits are still virtual, due to the fact that a large percentage of Covid infections come from asymptomatic people at this point in the pandemic. My patients, some of whom are at high risk for post-viral illness (or have a post-viral illness), do not want to take a chance to catch any virus while working with me to improve their health. I think Zoom is better than wearing masks, though I admit not by much.
BILLING DETAILS
Our initial contact is usually on the phone, and relatively short (25-30 minutes) and less expensive than a true medical visit ($100). The goal for me is to hear a broad outline of what you are experiencing and what your health goals are, so I can describe how I would address your issues and why.
Please be prepared to access the link we will send you and enter your credit card information. Our payment platform uses Stripe which is considered a quality payment processor.
PLEASE NOTE: Our payment processor may ask you to sign a PHI waiver, which allows them to email you a confirmation of your payment when the charge goes through. If you don’t sign this waiver, the charges we put through your account won’t result in any confirmation emails.
FIRST MEDICAL VISIT
The next step in working together is the comprehensive review of your medical and life history, the “First Medical Visit.” This visit usually lasts 90 minutes (cost is pro-rated $600/hour). Please complete online questionnaires ahead of the visit.
PLEASE NOTE: Whenever the waiting list exceeds 2 months, in order to reduce wait times for new patient appointments, we require a $500 deposit at the time of booking the first medical visit, and a 2-week notice for cancellation in order to refund this deposit if needed. Follow up visits are more flexible.
At the end of this first medical visit, we provide you with several recommendations, including supplements, diet and exercise or other recommendations, and we set up testing that will allow us to move forward.
SUBSEQUENT FOLLOW UP
The first follow up visit occurs about 3-5 weeks after the first medical visit. We review the steps you tried to implement, and how things went for you. We also review available lab results if available, and make additional recommendations.
We also usually request that you sign up for a $400/month intensive tier agreement. At this tier, you agree to have monthly 30-45 minute appointments for a few months, basically as long as you feel they are valuable to maintain momentum and to keep moving forward in your treatment. Most patients stay in this tier anywhere from 4 months to 12 months. This tier also comes with full supplement discount (35% off the list price on Fullscript) and a 20% discount on face-to-face visits in addition to the monthly visits if they are needed. We provide email communication for clarification of issues discussed during appointments.
Subsequent follow up visits will be similar to the second follow up visit.
PLEASE NOTE: Sometimes patients miss a monthly appointment. While we try to give you good value for your payments, irregular appointments can make it hard to assign payments to visits for the purposes of insurance reimbursement.
You then graduate, if desired, from the Intensive Tier to a Maintenance Membership, $49/month. A membership is required if there are medications you want me to continue to prescribe for you. At this membership level (membership costs cannot be reimbursed by insurance) you get 20% off any follow up visits, and 20% off supplements.
ONGOING PATIENTS
Once you reach your goals or have been in the Intensive Tier for at least 4 months, you can sign up for the “Maintenance Membership“ ($49 monthly) so you can stay connected to the practice, including receiving prescription refills if needed, and a 20% discount on appointments.
If you do not want to sign up for a membership, you can still pay for individual appointments ($600/hour). We request you plan for an hour-long visit if you have not been seen in the last year.
UNCONVENTIONAL LONGEVITY PROGRAM
I am launching a new program for people who don't have any significant medical issues, but mainly want to look to the future and be as healthy as they can. Details HERE.
IN SUMMARY
– Initial telephone contact: 25-30 minutes, $100
– First medical: usually 90 minutes, $900 (or pro-rated)
– Follow up visits: start Intensive Tier $400/month, and have monthly 30-40 minute visits
– At any time: discontinue Intensive Tier and consider Maintenance Membership $49/month.
– If on Maintenance Membership, subsequent visits will be $480/hour
– If not on Maintenance Membership, subsequent visits will be $600/hour
Summary of programs:
Intensive tier: $400/month, full supplement discount; monthly 30-40 minute visit, discount on additional visits ($480 instead of $600/hour)
Maintenance membership; $49/month, medication refills, discount on visits ($480 instead of $600/hour), 50% off one 55 minute appointment for each 12 months of membership, 20% supplement discount.
No membership: no medication refills, no discount on supplements, visits are $600 per hour.
Prices are subject to change, usually on January 1st. Maintenance Membership fee will remain unchanged in 2025.
WE AIM FOR A THOROUGH INTERVENTION
In order to fix a chronic medical issue that has proven resistant to other approaches, we usually have to address several aspects of physiology.
EXCEPTIONS
1. Some people only want “preventive functional medicine.“ We offer a new program for this, look under "Unconventional Longevity Program."
2. It is possible that the problems resolve faster than we expected, in which case we will transition to a maintenance membership sooner.
3. Many young children do not require a 90 minute first medical visit. We pro-rate the fees.
I am launching a new program for people who don't have any significant medical issues, but mainly want to look to the future and be as healthy as they can. Details HERE.
IN SUMMARY
– Initial telephone contact: 25-30 minutes, $100
– First medical: usually 90 minutes, $900 (or pro-rated)
– Follow up visits: start Intensive Tier $400/month, and have monthly 30-40 minute visits
– At any time: discontinue Intensive Tier and consider Maintenance Membership $49/month.
– If on Maintenance Membership, subsequent visits will be $480/hour
– If not on Maintenance Membership, subsequent visits will be $600/hour
Summary of programs:
Intensive tier: $400/month, full supplement discount; monthly 30-40 minute visit, discount on additional visits ($480 instead of $600/hour)
Maintenance membership; $49/month, medication refills, discount on visits ($480 instead of $600/hour), 50% off one 55 minute appointment for each 12 months of membership, 20% supplement discount.
No membership: no medication refills, no discount on supplements, visits are $600 per hour.
Prices are subject to change, usually on January 1st. Maintenance Membership fee will remain unchanged in 2025.
WE AIM FOR A THOROUGH INTERVENTION
In order to fix a chronic medical issue that has proven resistant to other approaches, we usually have to address several aspects of physiology.
- The functional medicine approach is a layered, systematic approach that addresses one basic physiological “function“ before moving on to the next.
- The first targets are usually digestion, nutrient deficiencies, and glucose regulation. You can expect to see benefits as you begin to address these aspects of your physiology.
- Then we target possible environmental toxicities, for example from heavy metals, mold, or industrial chemicals and pesticides.
- Finally, we look for possible chronic infections. These become chronic specifically because of nutrient deficiencies, digestive issues, inflammation, or toxicity. They may resolve on their own, or require targeted intervention. Completing the course of treatment is meant to prevent backsliding into your original dysfunctions.
EXCEPTIONS
1. Some people only want “preventive functional medicine.“ We offer a new program for this, look under "Unconventional Longevity Program."
2. It is possible that the problems resolve faster than we expected, in which case we will transition to a maintenance membership sooner.
3. Many young children do not require a 90 minute first medical visit. We pro-rate the fees.
