Frequently asked questions

Brengle Family Medicine welcomes patients with any insurance and those with no insurance. Although your monthly fee isn’t covered by insurance, you have the option of using your insurance for imaging services, prescriptions, labs, etc. or pay a highly reduced cash rate. If you have private insurance, you may submit your claim form to your insurance company to be reimbursed directly. The amount of reimbursement you receive will depend on your contract with your insurance company.  

Our practice is excellent for the patient with Medicare who wants more care and services beyond the government minimum.  Our Medicare patients pay our practice fees directly, but Medicare coverage remains in place for everything else: specialists, testing performed outside our office and hospitalizations.  Your Medicare also covers labs services as these are performed by an independent lab affiliate.   

Especially for Medicare patients, Brengle Family Medicine will provide healthcare services that are vastly expanded from what you are used to in primary care. Depending on the individual, there may be ways to better fit DPC with commercial insurance or Medicare.  We always suggest contacting your insurance professional to see what your options are.

Always check with your tax advisor, but our fees are designed to be compliant with health savings, flexible spending and health reimbursement accounts. We are happy to provide you with an invoice if any questions arise about our programs. While a membership is a qualified medical expense, we do recommend a best practice of paying semi annually or annually with an HSA.

Our service contract is for one year. If you are unhappy with our services OR for any reason wish to cancel your contract, you may do so with a 30-day notice. Any services already performed (i.e. preventive exams) will be itemized for payment. Any refunds will be granted after the service items are paid. All contracts are automatically renewed unless a 30-day notice is received by us not to renew.

If you feel you need to go the hospital, please call and discuss with me at any time.  As your private physician, I would like to be involved in your hospital care—whether to speak to the emergency room physician or the in-patient doctor to assist in your care. We are also happy to keep in touch with your families during your stay and help arrange for you care after you return home.

You may pay with cash, credit or check.  For convenience, we keep a credit card on file for incidentals and to make it easier for you to make monthly, quarterly, biannual or annual payments.

My new practice will be implementing technology that will allow me to be available to you after hours. You will have access to dedicated communication tools that will permit us to securely text, facetime, and send pictures in real time.

The only change is that I’ve partnered with resources that may save you additional money if you would like to pay cash rather than submit to insurance. For example, I’ve partnered with  Health Lab and  Northwest Radiology and a Sleep Center for dramatically lower cash based pricing. 

Conventional insurance-based medical practices are unwieldy with many more employees and time spent just on billing and collections. Because of this, doctors are forced to see 35+ patients a day, allowing little time for each visit and creating wait times many times over an hour. Immediate attention to medical issues, longer appointment times,  and clear, up-front pricing make a direct primary care practice an excellent choice.

Numerous reports show better care and cost saving throughout the United States.  In North Carolina, DPC saved $1.28 million in health care claims in one year for 2000 patients.  Less paperwork for doctors means more time to spend with patients as needed to manage medical conditions.  More time means better access which means fewer specialist referrals, hospital admissions and ER visits. In insurance-based medical clinics,  43% of the day is spent on needless paperwork.

Care and convenience will get better.  First, you can have a 30 to 45 minute with me every time you see me.  You also have the option of seeing me via televisit for additional convenience.  You can also message me anytime via a dedicated messaging app.  This allows you not only to send me any symptoms you are having but ask questions and I can message you right back.  Lastly, your visits will be on time. 

I am able to take the time to listen, understand, and treat your issues, follow up, and be with you every step of the way.  By limiting the amount of patients I see, I can devote more time to being your advocate and helping you navigate the healthcare  system.  This will help improve your health and reduce the need for ER visits and hospitalizations.

We will work with you to help you get paid by your insurance company, if possible.  We do not have ties with insurance companies or Medicare, which allows us to give you more time during office visits, better care,  and lower prices.  As we are “out-of-network” , please check your benefits for payment options if you choose to submit a claim.

I became an independent family physician to make you the priority. That means we would like to be your healthcare advocate out of our office.  It is best to contact me before you go to an ER, hospital or specialist.  I can work with your other doctors to make sure you get the care you need, and we are available to help you through the process.  

You may pay with cash, credit card, or ACH directly from your checking account. We request a credit card on file through our secure business vendor to enjoy a cash-free office environment. Your annual care package can be paid annually or throughout the year.  If you are going to use your Health savings accounts—payment needs to be every 6 months or yearly.  

You will be charged as soon as you sign up for my practice.

It’s easy, schedule a visit either online or call  to schedule your time to come in to the office and see me.  You and I also have the option to do a televisit as an alternative for follow-up or acute visit.  Because you are a member of my practice, there is no additional charge to see me.

Studies show that a patient saves $260 per month with DPC compared to insurance-based practices. These savings are a result of reduced ER visits and long-term hospital stays.  By joining a DPC practice, your primary care needs are covered at all times, so you have options to move to an insurance plan that only covers emergencies, and has less expensive premiums. I would suggest talking to an insurance professional for your options.

You never know what the future holds, so I would suggest joining for a membership and taking advantage of the time I am able to spend with you in order to get ahead of problems that may arise.  I would always suggest you talk to me directly, and we can, together, figure out a plan that makes sense for the both of us.

I am not the first practice to be structured using this model of care. 600 is the approximate number of patients I want to take on to ensure I have the time to meet with each patient.  Keep in mind that a normal practice (like Hoosier Family Health) has roughly 2000 patients per doctor.  My main priority is you, and I want to make sure I’m available for you while maintaining visits where we will not be rushed.

Brengle Family Medicine is now open. You may schedule an appointment as soon as you get signed up.