Frequently Asked Questions.
We want everything about our practice to be transparent.
Direct Primary Care
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Direct Primary Care, or DPC, is a model of healthcare that puts you first by getting rid of the red tape restricting most other traditional practices. That means the care you need when you need it- never rushing you through appointments and being proactive with healthcare treatment plans. The doctor-patient relationship is just as the name suggests -- direct. Instead of billing insurance for every visit, DPC operates on a membership-based system where patients pay a monthly fee. This fee covers unlimited access to their provider, ensuring personalized, immediate care. It fosters a more personal patient-provider relationship, eliminates insurance-related paperwork, and offers patients more time with their providers. It's a win-win!
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Between $99 and $147 a month with a one time registration fee. We promise to make every dollar spent on your medical care transparent. Let us show you how our model saves you money and time! Current prices can be accessed on our Membership Page.
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You won't have to pay a co-pay for office visits or routine physicals. Also, you'll be able to avoid many visits by sending your questions directly to your doctor via email and text -- something you won't get from a traditional practice. You'll also benefit from negotiated deals for prescription medications, blood tests, X-rays, and MRI/CT scans.
More importantly, since you are getting all this amazing care, you can cut way back on your insurance premiums. Most DPC patients couple a DPC Membership with a high-deductible, low-premium insurance plan so they're covered in the case of a major health issue. But you can leave the rest of your healthcare to Shreveport Direct Care.
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For a reasonable monthly membership fee, our DPC members receive a comprehensive suite of primary care services. This includes unlimited visits, same or next-day appointments, and enhanced access via Telehealth, phone calls, or messages.
Need to see us? No problem. Need to see us again? Come on in! Just have a question? Fire off a message and we'll get back to you.
Some in-clinic medications, tests, and procedures may incur an additional charge, but you'll always know up-front and before committing to care.
We'd be remiss if we didn't note that neither the DPC nor the Medicare Concierge plans cover third-party specialists, labs, imaging, or prescriptions outside of the benefit listed below. However, we are dedicated to guiding our members through the healthcare system and helping you secure these services at reasonable prices when needed.
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It seems that anytime you go to the doctor in Shreveport nowadays, the first question you are asked is "what insurance do you have?" instead of "hi, how are you?"
You might use your auto insurance to fix a smashed fender or other major damages. But you'd never use it to get an oil change (or pay for gas). For some reason, health insurance is currently being used for the equivalent of oil changes for humans -- routine physicals, office visits, simple blood tests, and minor procedures. This just doesn't make sense.
We forgo insurance payments in order to save our patients from the arbitrary, intrusive decisions that come with using insurance. Charging a direct monthly fee frees us from the typical contractual agreements that prevent non-DPC members from getting wholesale prices on laboratory tests, imaging, and medications.
That being said, if you do have insurance, you can use it to pay for vaccines, medications, labs, imaging, specialists visits, hospitalizations, etc., even as a patient of Shreveport Direct Care. The only difference is that we do not directly bill insurance, and insurance does not play a role in paying the membership to the practice.
If you are over 65 years of age or have Medicare, please see our Medicare Concierge Plan. The goverment has rules and Shreveport Direct Care is not able to enroll you into Direct Primary Care program. However we do have a plan that will give you almost similar benefits!
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As our membership is not insurance, it does not cover third-party services or products such as hospitals, labs, imaging, specialists, medical equipment, and pharmacies. However, we're dedicated to assisting our members in finding cost-effective options when external services or referrals are necessary. It's always our goal to guide and support our members throughout their healthcare journey, ensuring they receive quality care at reasonable prices.
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No, the Direct Primary Care membership is not an insurance or cost share plan. It's a direct care model where patients pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to a primary care provider without involving insurance or government intermediaries.
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With our FREE drug program included in the cost of your membership, you’ll have access to over 1,000 quality maintenance medications that you can have delivered right to your doorstep for FREE with membership. You’ll also have access to urgent care medications that you can pick up at your local retail pharmacy for FREE. Our medication list contains over 95% of the top prescribed generic medications in the US for conditions such as:
High Cholesterol
Asthma
Diabetes
Men’s Health
Mental Health
Women's Health
Allergy
High Blood Pressure
Thyroid
Urgent Care
Medicare Concierge
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Medicare Concierge is a membership service designed specifically for Medicare or Medicare Advantage patients. It offers many of the same benefits of our DPC model, allowing for enhanced services and care beyond what traditional Medicare offers. Shreveport Direct Care may not be able to service some Medicare Advantage Plans.
Unlike DPC membership, we bill Medicare for services.
To the member, the experience should be as seamless as it is for a DPC member: simplified access to care when you need it!
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Direct Primary Care (DPC) and Medicare Concierge are both designed to make it easier to contact your provider, get appointments when you need them, and have longer, more in-depth consultations.
In practice, members of the two plans would experience the same simplified access to quality care.
The primary distinction lies in how we, the provider of care, must handle insurance. Due to regulatory requirements, we must bill Medicare for specific services under the Medicare Concierge membership. Dr Bass is happy to discuss with you further if you would like.
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Our Medicare Concierge plan bridges the gap between what Medicare offers and what our patients truly need. With this membership, patients can schedule same or next-day appointments, receive more time with providers, have priority access, reduced waiting times, and enhanced communication. It's designed to maximize the quality of the care you receive while offering benefits similar to a direct care model.
For example, while Medicare allows a lot of freedom to choose your own provider, often the earliest appointment with that provider is weeks, or even months, off. In our view, that's just not how healthcare is supposed to work. We aso believe that there are additional services like extended counseling for lifestyle modification that can greatly benefit your health.
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With our FREE drug program included in the cost of your membership, you’ll have access to over 1,000 quality maintenance medications that you can have delivered right to your doorstep for FREE with membership. You’ll also have access to urgent care medications that you can pick up at your local retail pharmacy for FREE. Our medication list contains over 95% of the top prescribed generic medications in the US for conditions such as:
High Cholesterol
Asthma
Diabetes
Men’s Health
Mental Health
Women's Health
Allergy
High Blood Pressure
Thyroid
Urgent Care