Comparing Wellness Membership Plans: the Difference Between our Life Medicine Plan and Direct Primary Care
At our clinic, we see a lot of folks looking for alternatives to traditional insurance-based models of care. In their search for better healthcare options, some have already explored programs such as Direct Primary Care (DPC) or wellness memberships in efforts to gain greater access to healthcare, more personalized attention, and a stronger focus on prevention.
How the Life Medicine Plan is Different
When we put our heads together about how to create a wellness plan that would offer our patients truly personalized and holistic preventative care, we explored the DPC path but found it lacking in some key areas. What we came up with as a model of care we could truly stand behind is an annual wellness plan called The Life Medicine Plan. Like a DPC plan, it was developed to offer a more personalized healthcare experience, but our Life Medicine Plan takes a different path than any of the models we explored.
While DPC plans focus primarily on providing ongoing access to a primary care physician, the Life Medicine Plan is designed to support whole-person wellness. We do this through flexible access to all the services we offer, proactive and ongoing care coordination, and a personalized, collaborative approach to moving towards health goals, all wrapped up in a budget-friendly package that can be paid monthly or annually.
At its center, the Life Medicine Plan recognizes that while we all need support in our healthcare journeys, the components of that support look different for each patient. We know that just as life changes from day to day and month to month, so too do healthcare needs. In that way, we’ve designed a plan that is entirely customizable. Patients who join the Life Medicine Plan begin with a set number of Wellness Points, which can be used towards any of our services – naturopathic care, massage, B injections, and DEXA Body Composition scans, to name a few. Because we are a collaborative practice, all our practitioners communicate with each other to bring you the very best care possible. Imagine if your doctor and massage therapist had a chat about what excellent care would look like for you…that happens at our clinic and within the Life Medicine Plan.
Additionally, we partner with our patients on their healthcare journeys. Our Life Medicine Plan Coordinator meets with each patient at the onset of their plan, and then continues to check in monthly (at a minimum) to ensure patients are on track with their health, that their needs are addressed, and that they are scheduled for the appointments that will best support them in both their short and long term health goals.
We also understand that these are tricky financial times for many of us. Ideally, by being proactive in our health, we save money in the end—but that doesn’t change that upfront costs for good health care can feel staggering. We aim to make healthcare both approachable and affordable - folks have the option to pay for their annual Life Medicine Plan upfront or monthly. The monthly cost for a new patient, which includes a 90-minute initial naturopathic visit as well as multiple follow-up visits and access to all our services, is $165/month. Established patients pay just $155/month. If patients choose to pay upfront, the monthly cost is even less.
By choosing the Life Medicine Plan, our patients gain an entire team of partners in their health care journey. We offer personalized guidance, coordinated support, and an emphasis on solutions that are both approachable and sustainable. The Life Medicine Plan is our best intention to offer a healthcare experience that is customized to you in every way so that you can feel supported in living your very best life.