As the entire DPC movement hinges on moving away from third-party insurers, this next step is quite an important one.
Before you can start charging patients for your services, you’re going to have to cancel any existing health insurance plans you currently have. This is in order to prevent a DPC clinic from collecting cash from a patient and then claiming reimbursement from their insurance company, thus scoring a double payment.
On top of this, you will also have to decide whether or not you want to opt-out of Medicare (more on this in the next section). Opting out means you will be able to bill your patient directly rather than seeking reimbursement from Medicare after each visit and procedure.
04
Cancel All Insurance Plans
Contact Your Insurance Directly
If you’re unsure how to cancel your insurance, don’t be afraid to call the insurance company directly.
Be sincere and to the point and ask how to cancel your contract and where to send a cancellation letter for official documentation.
It’s important that you plan this in advance, as standard notice time for insurance policy cancellations is usually a 60, 90 or 120-day period. All insurance companies have different policies in this regard but you can find the exact figure in your contract. The further you proceed with your DPC clinic, the harder it will be to become unentangled in an insurance contract, especially if you’ve already started to move forward with monetary investments such as signing the lease on a clinic space.
If you work for a hospital, your insurance contract will be set up through your employer, and so will terminate when your employment with the hospital ends. You’ll still have to opt-out of Medicare in this situation, however.
You should also advise your current patients that you intend to cancel your insurance, and notify them with at least one or two letters to ensure that they receive the information.
Stuck? Confused? This is a good time to email our lawyer Keen for some free legal guidance and contract review.
Email: keen@atlas.md
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