![]() Unfortunately, this doesn’t work well for many of us who want to have options for our care, have a deeper relationship with our doctors, and receive personalized treatments for our health.įor this reason, many functional medicine doctors charge their fees directly to the patient. Doctors can still be incredibly caring, but be stuck between a rock and a hard place with respect to the time they can spend with you. ![]() This means visits are often brief, superficial, and even sometimes dismissive. One of the most significant impacts that health insurance has had on our medical care is that it has created a model where doctors need to see as many patients per day as possible. Unfortunately, this is not the only constraint health insurance has on our care. Most of us have been on the receiving end of this triangulated care situation: we have to switch doctors because ours is no longer on “our plan” or, our doctor wants us to have a test or medication, and the insurance company denies it. If you’re lucky enough to have some choice in the matter (often the case with PPOs), it is likely going to come with a much higher price tag. ![]() You will need to go to a certain group of doctors for care, or to a certain hospital for testing. What does this mean to you? In a nutshell, it means you don’t have much choice in the care you’ll receive. Further, there are contracts between health insurance providers and health systems (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies) for the prices they will be paid for the services they provide. One thing that all plans have in common is that your employer (or whoever provides your insurance) has negotiated with health insurance providers on the “benefits” you will receive. They are a little different in how they are structured and how much they cost you (both your monthly payment and your per-visit coinsurance). Health insurance has been (and still is) offered in many different arrangements: HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations), PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations), and high-deductible health plans are some of the most common. But is using your health insurance always the best option for getting the care you want? Let’s take a closer look. Having health insurance is an important part of being able to access medical care that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. It is so common that most people don’t think of their medical care and their insurance as separate things. Over the past several decades, using insurance to pay for medical care has become the norm.
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