Frequently Asked Questions

Direct Primary Care is a newer model of healthcare where patients have direct access to their primary care provider, allowing for a more personal relationship. Direct Primary Care has minimal barriers to patient care which empowers a trusting relationship with improved continuity of care and patient outcomes. The Provider only takes a limited number of patients and therefore will have more time to spend with patients compared with a traditional practice. Patients pay a monthly membership fee; your insurance or Medicare plan will NOT be billed, so there will be no co-pays. The membership fee includes 30 to 60 min appointments, same day or next day appointments for established patients with urgent needs, telemedicine appointments, chat, emailing and 24/7 access to a primary care provider. You can choose to see the doctor as often as you want in a month.

Patients can still use their insurance or *Medicare to help pay for labs, imaging tests, and to see specialty doctors, but it won’t be needed to see their Direct Primary Care Provider.

*Medicare patients need to sign a one-time waiver declaring that neither you nor your doctor will directly bill Medicare for our services. Medicare will still cover any laboratory testing, imaging, medications, or hospitalizations prescribed by our offices. Unfortunately, Medicare Advantage plans are NOT compatible with Direct Primary Care.

Our prescriptions and labs are wholesale to our patients plus a 10% charge to cover the administrative costs.

In providing better and consistent access, we seek to prevent or reduce hospitalizations and specialty referrals. In instances when outside services are required, we will provide a referral to a trusted specialist.

*It is recommended you have a high deductible health plan or reputable Health Share Plan for care outside of our scope of practice.

Lots of people ask why our Providers don’t see patients who are not Ark members. The purpose of our practice is to be there for our patients when they are sick, but also to help them be well for the long term.

A membership gives us the opportunity to take calls and emails and spend time with our patients. It gives the patient the incentive to reach out early when they have a problem and it gives the doctor the incentive, not just to get the patient into the clinic, but to help them be healthy. In most healthcare practices, the healthcare provider only gets paid when people are sick, which made us ask, shouldn’t someone have an incentive to keep people well?

The Direct Primary Care Arizona practice Ark Family Health model may seem similar to a concierge practice and it is in some ways (e.g., direct access to the doctor), but the differences are that with a concierge practice, the membership fees are much higher and they charge your insurance or Medicare plan each time you see the doctor. Direct primary care memberships fees are less than most gym memberships.

1. You will have access to your Provider through email, chat and phone.
2. Same day or next day appointments available for urgent needs.
3. By having direct access to us, you can expect timely responses to your questions and health concerns that otherwise could take days to receive a response from a traditional primary care clinic.
4. It will allow for a more personal physician-patient relationship focused on you obtaining your best health.

Thankfully, no. In order for Direct Primary Care Arizona practice Ark Family Health to maximize our time with you, the patient, we have elected to bypass the insurance regulations and paperwork. This allows us to devote more time to your care.

Perhaps the most critical distinction in our model of care centers on a direct, personal relationship between you and your Physician or Provider. That directness carries over to our business model as well. While the tender mercies of an insurance company might apply to the fixing of a damaged fender on your automobile, we see no reason for any insurer to have a voice about either the quality or the cost of your family’s health care.

We feel one of the major reasons we have health insurance is to protect against risk. Most current health insurance plans are over-insuring against low risk probability events. Restructuring your insurance coverage can provide lots of avenues for cost savings, especially with labs, medications and imaging at nearly wholesale costs.

Also, see the insurance alternatives article for more information.

At Ark Family Health, your primary care needs would be covered by the monthly membership fee. We don’t bill your insurance for office visits. If you were to have any questions about this or anything, don’t hesitate to contact us.

*Medicare patients need to sign a one-time waiver declaring that neither you nor your doctor will directly bill Medicare for our services. Medicare will still cover any laboratory testing, imaging, medications, or hospitalizations prescribed by our offices. Unfortunately, Medicare Advantage plans are NOT compatible with Direct Primary Care.

High deductible insurance, Major Medical Coverage Plans, Health Sharing Plans, and Catastrophic Coverage Plans all complement DPC models well. We take care of the Primary Care needs and let the higher deductible plans take care of the rest.

Our People and Core Values of Love, Light, Grit and Honest Humility. This combined with the Direct Primary Care model allows us to truly put you and your needs front and center!

Ark Family Health is a better option for many reasons. Here are a few:

Increased Access

If it’s important for you to have your questions answered and for your Provider to be available when you need him or her. We are able to spend more than double the average time other Providers spend with their patients. We have same day or next day appointments available for established patients for most urgent matters along with 24/7 on call access.

Decreased Out of Pocket Expenses

Most of our patients not only gain more access to their Provider, but they also save money — sometimes hundreds of dollars — because we help people avoid urgent care visits, have no visit co-pays and offer wholesale labs, imaging and medications.

Better Continuity

The Providers in the urgent care clinics don’t know you or your history. Seeing your own Provider who knows you can be very important in finding the best solutions for your health.

Absolutely. We see newborns and not-so-newborns and everyone in between.

Little to no wait time is the goal. We realize that your time is valuable and want to respect that as much as possible.

By all means, yes! Because illness and injury do not respect regular office hours, we have a Provider on call 24/7.

Absolutely. One of the best aspects of a Direct Primary Care clinic is the opportunity for prevention. Our goal is to prevent disease rather than react to disease. Screenings and prevention are key components to long and healthy lives. We can keep you on track to prevention through lifestyle changes, specifically targeting diet, exercise, hygiene and sleep.

Call us! We can triage and often provide care — yet another freedom we enjoy together as a result of Ark’s independence from the restrictions of third-party payment. Because we know you well, we can streamline your care when you’re sick and away from home. Many illnesses can be diagnosed and treated with a simple conversation by phone, email, chat or telehealth visit.