Southern Grace Medical Care

We realize, especially during these uncertain times, that many people do not have healthcare insurance. We also realize that many small businesses would like to provide healthcare for their employees, but are simply unable to do so. We have a solution for you.

While Southern Grace Medical Care accepts major medical insurances, we also offer a Direct Primary Care (DPC) option for those who do not have access to insurance, or choose not to bill their insurance company for primary care. We will see patients ages 18 to 64 in the DPC program. Of course, if a patient has access to any healthcare insurance, we strongly advise you to take advantage of it. DPC is NOT healthcare insurance. It is a low monthly payment directly to Southern Grace that gives you almost unlimited access to your own primary care provider with no office visit charges, and no co-pays. Your visits are paid for, in full, by the monthly payment. We offer this option for individuals who need healthcare, as well as for employers, large and small, who want to provide their employees with primary healthcare services at a very reasonable cost. This is NOT a “concierge” service. We will not bill insurance companies for this program, and your payments cannot be submitted to any insurance company for reimbursements or to be applied to your deductible. Unfortunately, we cannot offer DPC services to anyone who is enrolled in Medicare, or who is eligible for Medicare. Also, Patients with insurance which includes a Health Savings Account (HSA) cannot use the HSA to pay monthly dues. This is due to federal regulations regarding DPC.

So, how does it work?

Individuals/Family: Individuals are required to sign a three-month commitment. After that, the patient may cancel the service at any time with a 30-day notice. The cost for an individual is $65 per month. A spouse or other adult family members within the same household can be added for an additional $30 per month. Please note that we reserve the right to decline patients with very complicated medical conditions as we feel some of these conditions need to be managed by a specialist. We do not provide chronic (long-term) pain management with opioid medications. We do treat anxiety and depression. However we do not treat anxiety with benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Klonopin), but we will be glad to take care of your primary healthcare needs and refer you to a specialist if you require any of these controlled substances. This program does not cover specialized diagnostic labs, specialists, medications prescribed, imaging (x-rays, etc), surgeries, hospitalizations, or other services outside the agreed upon primary healthcare services. However, it does provide virtually unlimited visits to your family healthcare provider. This includes annual physicals, mid-year checkups, follow-ups for patients with chronic conditions that require more frequent visits, and unlimited sick visits. It also covers basic blood and urine labs to monitor blood counts, kidney and liver function, Thyroid function, and Prostate labs for men, at no additional cost. All of this is covered by the monthly payment, and there are no copays due at the time of visit. All blood and urine labs are drawn at our office.

Companies: Companies may sign a contract (minimum 6 month commitment) if they have at least 5 employees who wish to participate in our DPC program. Employees will receive the above listed services, and companies will get a discounted rate of $65 per employee (pricing for additional household family members as described above). Employers can offer this program as a benefit for employees by paying the monthly rate for them. Or, if money is tight, you can allow interested employees to have the $65 per month taken out of their paycheck, or you can offer to pay part of the monthly fee, and allow the employee to have the rest taken out of their paychecks. In short, you can provide this service with little or no money out of your pocket, depending on how you decide to offer it to your employees.

Please note that the above listed items are for general information and do not supersede any signed agreement with an individual or company.

Alabama law requires that you understand and agree that:

a. The agreement does not constitute health insurance of the laws of this state.
b. Patients insured by health insurance plans that are compliant with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act already have coverage for certain preventive care benefits at no cost to the patient.
c. Payments made by a patient for services rendered under a physician agreement may not count toward the patient’s health insurance deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket expenses.
d. A patient is encouraged to consult with the patient’s health insurance plan (if they have one) before entering into the agreement and receiving care.