CClaire Zengerle, a family doctor at rossroads, wants to bypass insurance companies and work directly with patients through a new direct payer care clinic.
Her clinic, Zengerle Medical Clinic, is scheduled to open on August 1st at 2721 Farm-to-Market Road in DeWitt County.
Direct payer care is a growing model over the past few years and is accelerating in the pandemic. After being dissatisfied with the medical insurance model, Zengerle hopes that the direct payer model will lead to the success of the clinic and better care of the patient.
Zengerle has been practicing medical care at Crossroads since 1995, but during that time she said she was getting more and more tired of insurance and it was becoming more and more difficult to work with patients. After her medical obligations were imposed during her pandemic, it was time for her to philosophically disagree with the recommendations to her patients and take another route to start her clinic. felt.
“I’m not working as well in my career as it is now, so it’s time to do something different,” Zengerle said. “COVID has changed the landscape of many businesses so much that it’s time for people to try something else.”
Direct payer care, unlike the insurance service fee model, is a subscription-based service where patients pay for access to their doctors.
Tip According to trends in the Health Direct Primary Care 2022 report, in 2020, direct payer care membership increased by 21% and service fee adult primary visits decreased by 10%. In Texas, direct payer care membership increased by 18% over the same period, the second largest increase in the state, but outpatient service fees decreased by 25%.
This model has been approved by the American Academy of Family Physics and recommends maintaining insurance in case of an emergency.
Zengale said at the clinic that instead of waiting to the very end, more people want to be positive about their health, because of fear of cost and illness due to COVID-19. I remembered how to avoid getting treatment during the blockage.
“They didn’t have their cancer screening tests because they knew the fact that people didn’t go to the doctor,” she said. “I knew a man who sat at home and had a stroke and had never been to the hospital before it was too late. It’s a scary story. We need to keep people from delaying their care. “
An additional feature of the clinic for patients is the HIPAA compliant app, which allows patients to inform Zengerle of injuries and other conditions, and to advise on appointments and other solution behavioral policies.
Zengerle learned this model through Roger Moczygemba, CEO and founder of Direct Med Clinic San Antonio, which has been in operation for four years.
According to Moczygemba, it’s difficult for patients to worry about the model at first, but once they do, they become more active and healthier and improve patient outcomes overall.
DirectMed Clinic San Antonio has grown steadily over the last four years and the pandemic is remarkable, he hopes to achieve similar success in rural areas as she can serve much more. I am.
She set up the clinic to serve the DeWitt County community, but Zengerle is confident that as the clinic grows, it can accommodate the growth of patients from across the crossroads.
Kyle Cotton was born and raised in San Antonio and graduated from the University of San Antonio and the University of Texas at Arlington. His cotton has covered economic development, health care, finance, government, technology, oil and gas, and higher education.
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