Do you take (or bill) my insurance?

No - and we don't plan to take any type of insurance in the near future. It's our belief that insurance companies should not dictate your medical care. Unfortunately, however, the US healthcare system confides in the insurance industry, which is a highly money-centric system, sadly only reliable in denying coverage for imaging, medications, labwork, procedures, medical equipment needs, and/or consultations.

Can I use my insurance for labs, imaging, prescriptions, etc.?

YES! If you want to use your insurance (and I advise everyone to keep aware of benefits - such as FREE annual labs which may be offered by your policy), you absolutely can! You are by no means required to utilize our in-house lab, imaging partners, or medication inventory. We want you to save money. Just make sure you understand your insurance policy (or at least know their phone number to ask them about coverage).

How do I contact my provider?

Your provider is available 24/7. The only time your provider is NOT available is when they are on vacation or have an emergency. In this case, a backup will be available. Members have exclusive access to their provider by email and phone. We recommend text messages when a situation is more urgent, and an email with less urgent matters. Feel free to nudge your providers - they are human and don't meant to forget, but sometimes they do get pretty busy!

What's the difference between DPC and typical primary care?

DPC focuses on both quality and availability. This is maintained by:

1. Limiting the total number of patients we take in as members.

2. NOT BILLING INSURANCE.

3. Up-front cost transparency

4. No limitation on number of visits per month

5. Offering 1-hour long appointments which gives you plenty of time to cover multiple issues.

6. Offering same-day or next-day appointments - sometimes just a phone call while other times an in-person visit (depending on patient needs)

7. Direct access right to the provider by phone and/or email

8. Discounts for additional services such as weight loss and hormone therapies

9. Expedited care for specialty consultations - occasionally limited depending on need and availability of specialists, but generally much faster

How do I cancel my membership?

We always want what's best for our members, and we strive to do our best at Virtue Medical. While we never want to lose any of our patients, we understand there are plenty of circumstances that may arise. We make cancelling a very simple process - just let us know via a phone call to the office at (816) 200-1533, send us an email, or let us know in-person. Cancellation is completely free, and does not require any explanation.

Do you prescribe the medical marijuana card?

Yes, but for our direct primary care members only! Medically appropriate use of marijuana can help treat the symptoms of (not cure) quite a few conditions. Evidence-based medicine shows promise for using marijuana for the treatment of insomnia, but there is limited/lacking data when it comes to other uses such as pain or anxiety. Likely in the next several years we will see newer data reflecting marijuana's utility in treating many other conditions. Still, for direct primary care members this is offered as long as your condition meets MO state requirements.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

- Unlike medications that treat the underlying condition, marijuana does not necesarily slow the progression of a disease process. Common uses of medical marijuana (although not indicated for any condition at this time) include chronic pain management, insomnia, anxiety, depression, PTSD, irritable bowel syndrome, and ADHD.

- The state of Missouri does require that a patient see a psychiatrist for the qualifying conditions of anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, or any other mental disorder when pertaining to medical marijuana use.

- Virtue Medical does not dispense or have any financial ties to marijuana, THC, cannabis, or CBD industries. We only assist our members in obtaining their medical marijuana card and renewals as deemed medically appropriate.

What methods can I use to pay my bill?

We take credit, debit, cash, ACH, check, *FSA, *HSA, and *HRA.

* HSA, HRA, and FSA payments can be a particularly tricky matter (depending on your company's HR determination), but ultimately they are considered an acceptable form of payment in Direct Primary Care. We do come across instances where payments are denied unless a more detailed receipt is submitted to explain the charges more precisely. It's best to discuss these payment types with your HR department (or whoever is responsible for insurance benefits from your company or provider).

What's the difference between DPC and Concierge Medicine?

It's easiest to think of DPC as a "cheaper" version of Concierge Medicine. As for Concierge Medicine, several definitions circulate around the web making it confusing. The basic idea here is that Concierge is much more expensive and typically charges for every type of service rendered in addition to charging a monthly or yearly membership fee. Most concierge practices also bill insurance.

What do I do if I can't pay my bill on time?

NOTIFY US ASAP!!! We know money gets tight sometimes - and we understand. The most critical thing you absolutely must do in this situation is let us know as soon as you can if you are having difficulty (or even suspect that you might begin to have difficulty) paying your bills. We want to help in any way we can!!! While there are late fees and re-registration fees, we rarely charge those when you communicate with us and develop a payment plan to get your bill paid off (even if it takes a long time!). We also reach out when a bill is past due, so please watch for those communications. When we don't get responses back, however, we assume that you've decided to cancel your membership - which leaves you with an escalated re-registration fee (SO PLEASE BE PROACTIVE!!!).