Janell Sellers of Wadsworth was looking for medical care for herself and her son, but was unable to find a provider that offered regular visits and consistent pricing without insurance.
Sellers, 38, lost her health insurance several years ago after her husband died. She pays for a Christian-based health care subcommittee. Planning helps big things, but it doesn’t mean going to the doctor, she said.
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“One of my biggest frustrations was that my child was sick and I wanted to take him somewhere. It cost us $100 just to get it,” Sellers said. , based on the care needed.
Sellers, a part-time teacher, needed to know the real price in order to budget. She is not eligible for Medicaid and has chosen to live on a tight budget so she can live with her 10-year-old son without working full time.
Since about 2019, Sellers and her son have been patients of Dr. Leslee McElrath.
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A board-certified family physician, McElrath owns an independent practice called Monarch Ideal Care LLC. McElrath visits clinics to prescribe and dispense medications when needed and to help patients find cheaper out-of-pocket alternative services.
In addition, McElrath offers nutrition and health coaching and partners with other partners to offer services such as yoga, massage and mental health sessions.
She operates using a concierge/direct primary care model.
She has two fee structures. $85 per month for doctor visits nights and weekends, 2 video psychotherapy visits per month for 12 months, massages every 3 months, yoga group classes once per month, 6 Includes months of nutrition and health coaching. Among other perks. With this model, patients can use their traditional insurance to bill for basic medical care and testing. Visits are still subject to copays and deductibles.
For $125 a month, patients get full service, access to unlimited doctors, and no premiums. Multiple family discounts are also available.
What is the concierge/direct care model?
Unlike traditional medical practices that bill exclusively through insurance or choose private payment options, the concierge/direct care model pays doctors directly for the services used.
In exchange, McElrath says, he’s now more directly involved in patient care. Every concierge/direct care model is slightly different, she said.
McElrath’s model allows patients to access an online portal, communicate with her, and often make same-day or next-day appointments.
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According to a 2020 poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, more than one in five wealthy people pays extra for direct access to a doctor. For low-middle income earners, the price is less than half that.
But McElrath’s clinic sees patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, Sellers says the monthly fees paid to the clinic are cheaper than traditional health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs when paying cash.
Temporary stay in Akron turned into rooting
McElrath, 35, grew up in Cincinnati and knew he wanted to be a doctor when he met a black pediatrician at the age of eight.
After completing medical training, McElrath found that his personality did not fit the corporate system. After training in Dayton, she worked in a private practice in Washington, D.C., but she realized it wasn’t for her.
She came to Akron on a temporary deal in 2018 and fell in love with the area and the people. She first opened in Akron’s Merriman Valley, and last September she opened at 2855 West She Market Street, Fair Lawn near Target in Suite 204.
McElrath initially started with a direct primary care model where you pay a monthly fee for medical services. But she started accepting medical insurance and, after receiving patient feedback, moved to a concierge model to offer more services.
McElrath typically sees patients between the ages of 7 and 65. Although she doesn’t accept Medicare, she enjoys working with Medicaid patients, saying, “You’re on Medicaid for some reason, but that doesn’t mean you’re not on Medicare.” ‘, so it was always meant to accept Medicaid patients. t deserves full attention.
Medicaid patients are the only people who can see McElrath without paying a subscription fee.
But some Medicaid patients, like Anthea Morris, say it’s worth paying $125 a month.
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Morris, a 30-year-old divorced mother of three in Hudson, works as a part-time nurse but does not have insurance through her job. She became eligible for Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was having trouble finding a doctor who really resonated with me, who really took the time to listen to me,” Morris said. “I loved her approach.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a lot cheaper than getting insurance and paying out-of-pocket costs. ,” said Morris.
Morris, who has been seeing McElrath for about six months, also wanted to see a trusted doctor when his Medicaid expired.
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McElrath said it’s important to find other business owners to partner with to care for people holistically. She wanted to find a mental health counselor specifically because she wanted it to be more affordable and accessible to people.
It was also important for McElrath to partner with businesses that are predominantly owned by black women. She also recently partnered with Black Men’s Fitness Her Trainer, which offers additional services.
McElrath hopes that being a black doctor will help eliminate inequalities and barriers to doctor visits in the black community.
“When I was in training, I had a patient who told me not to trust a doctor unless he was an older white man and an older black woman,” McElrath said.
McElrath said she is trying to break down what she calls the fear and stigma of going to the doctor and the “paternalism” of doctors saying, “You should do this.”
“Let’s work together. Let’s figure out what works best together. The important thing is to get people to listen,” she said.
McElrath will refer patients to specialists as needed.
Morris, who is Asian Indian, said he also likes meeting other minority professionals.
A model not for everyone
McElrath said he knows his business model isn’t for everyone.
“It might be a good model for people with new diagnoses or chronic problems to talk about,” she said. It makes more sense to pay $125 if you’re on , because not only does it cover all clinic visits, but others as well.”
McElrath meets with all potential patients for a free consultation to make sure they are both comfortable.
Her goal is to grow her business. She currently has 65 patients and wants 500 patients. But she wants to keep the practice manageable so patients can be available for same-day or next-day care.
She has a medical assistant who acts as a phlebotomist and practice administrator, but McElrath has no nurse.
“I’m the one taking care of the patient,” she said. All bookings are for a minimum 30 minute time slot, with more time available if required.
McElrath said he wanted to overcome his “doctor fear” or wait six weeks to see if anything improved.
“You can reach out to me when you first hurt yourself,” she said.
For more information
McElrath will be at 1912 Buchholzer Blvd. in Akron where she and her partner will be available from 10 am to 2 pm on September 17th.
For more information about Monarch Ideal Care, please visit www.monarchidealcare.com or call 234-281-4384.
Betty Lin-Fisher, consumer columnist and medical reporter for The Beacon Journal, can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see her full story at www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher.
Focus on black-owned businesses
The Beacon Journal profiles black-owned businesses in Summit County. Beacon Journal will continue to focus on minority-owned businesses as part of its ongoing regular coverage.
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