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Dec 09, 2019 2020-04-08 7:40Robust Theme
The Frontier Difference
Frontier Pediatric Care is Nebraska’s first direct pediatric care practice. Our membership model fosters the physician-patient relationship and offers high-quality, convenient care that busy families deserve.
What is Direct Primary Care?
The DPC Model
Direct Primary Care is a model of healthcare that focuses on the physician-patient relationship without the limitations of insurance or the lack of personalization of a large corporate practice.
How We're Different
DPC practices don’t accept insurance. You pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to your pediatric team. Instead of billing hassles, price confusion, and piles of forms to fill out at each visit, you receive all the care you need for one low monthly price.
DPC is perfect for ...
Direct Primary Care is all about personalized care, so it’s going to be a good fit for just about everyone. The membership model makes a lot of sense for:
- Parents who want a fixed price (no copays) so they can budget their healthcare expenses without worrying about unexpected or hidden medical costs at each visit
- Families with high-deductible insurance plans who usually pay for every office visit no matter how minor the issue
- Patients who participate in Health Sharing Ministries, which often don’t cover checkups or vaccines
- Families with inconsistent health benefits who want to keep the same provider through career/insurance plan changes
- Parents who want longer visits to ensure all their questions are addressed and reassurance on what they are facing with their child
- Families who need appointments with short wait times and ease of scheduling (online scheduling of appointments for those midnight coughs)
- Parents who want to talk to their pediatrician instead of filling out long forms and questionnaires
- Parents who want to be able to text or email their pediatrician to address certain concerns without having to make a trip into the office
Ready to Join the Frontier Family?
How Real Patients Benefit from Frontier Pediatric Care
The Anderson Family
The Anderson family has two healthy kids, 5-year-old Ava and 5-month-old Aaron. The family has good health insurance with a high deductible through their employer.
In the past year, Ava visited the doctor’s office for:
- 5-year checkup
- Behavioral issues
- Strep throat (evening urgent care visit)
- Flu vaccine
- Bruise/bump on head
- Weird rash
In the past year, Aaron visited the doctor for:
- All the usual checkups and vaccinations
- Visit for weight gain concern
- Breastfeeding help with a lactation specialist
- Visit for vomiting/diarrhea
- Several visits for cough, congestion, breathing concerns
The Andersons feel fortunate to have healthy kids and good insurance ...
... but as it turns out, they made several doctor visits that cost over $1,300 out of pocket.
They also spent a lot of unnecessary time coordinating visits that could have been taken care of without packing up the family for an office visit (rashes, for example, can often be diagnosed by texting us a photo!). With unrushed appointments, they could have had all their answers taken care of at once and the time to deep-dive on specific concerns.
There’s no extra charge for longer visits, extra visits, or additional questions. Checkups, sick visits, vaccinations, text messages, emailed questions, initial lactation visit, and more are all covered with your membership at Frontier. Since we don’t rely on insurance companies, we aren’t subject to the myriad forms typically required at each visit, saving you time and frustration.
The Bai Family
The Bai family just had their first baby, Bilal.
As with most new parents, they have lots of questions and concerns and just can’t seem to fit them all in (or remember them!) at each quick checkup.
They saw a couple of other pediatricians in the large practice they go to before they were able to get in with their designated pediatrician. Each visit was overwhelming with long forms to fill out, brief visits, and extra charges for additional questions.
With a fussy baby and a mixed bag of Google answers, office visits are about the only way to get the peace of mind the Bais want.
On top of doctor visits, the Bais desperately forked over a pretty penny for an online sleep training course in hopes of getting much-needed sleep for their baby and themselves.
Oh, how tough those first few days/weeks/months can be with your first baby!
It’s really no time to be requiring a bunch of overwhelming forms and money and time spent in waiting rooms and/or Googling late at night.
As part of your membership at Frontier, you can text us about those frequent questions new parents are bound to have. Feeding issues, first illness, growth and development concerns, rashes, allergic reactions, and worries about feeding solids, sleeping, and even postpartum mood concerns—we are here to help!
You can get in right away for a visit if you have something you want to be checked out (and our new parents love that we schedule an appointment the day after hospital discharge!).
You can get your baby’s weight checks, sleeping consultation, and check-ups in a comfortable quiet office environment. All of this is covered with your membership.
The Chen Family
The Chen family has a school-age child, Charlotte, who is almost never sick but has some chronic conditions: asthma and ADHD (and bit of anxiety). Charlotte tends to have a higher number of yearly doctor visits compared to the typical child, yet the out-of-pocket expenses don’t quite add up fast enough to meet the family’s health insurance deductible. The Chens feel like their daughter could use monthly check-ins with her medical team, but they find themselves stretching their visits and check-ins more than they probably should to save money (they pay for every visit and are up-charged when specialists are brought in and/or extra time is used) and time (missing too much school and work!).
It’s not the fault of Charlotte or her parents that she has chronic conditions that require some extra attention! That’s why Frontier is a great fit for this family—they don’t pay extra for these conditions and concerns that are beyond their control. So what does this look like?
- Chronic care visits are covered in the membership at no additional cost
- Check-ins as needed in the way that makes the most sense for the family (texting, virtual, in-person)
- Keep in direct communication on issues that we are monitoring— how school is going on our new medication for ADHD, the return of a nightly cough as we back off on asthma medications, etc.
- If a higher level of care is required, we coordinate with specialists to ensure no one drops the ball or has an unnecessary wait to get needed care
The Davis Family
The Davis family has a medically complex child, Danielle. Danielle’s special needs require lots of visits, so the family typically meets its health insurance deductible early each year and enjoys covered visits after that. But, they also find their daughter’s extra care needs are not always met during the usual 15-minute time slots.
Frontier’s small panel size makes it possible for us to care for patients on an individual level—relaxed, extended visits are just what Danielle’s family needs to best care for her.
We can offer regular check-ins via phone call, email, or text to ensure therapies and medications are working and needs are being met. At these check-ins, we discuss progress and any anticipated issues.
Our flexibility allows us to meet patients where they are—virtual or home visits are often preferred for our patients with special needs. We also take time to coordinate with specialists and ensure their care doesn’t fall through the cracks.
The Ellsbury Family
The Ellsbury family has one stay-at-home parent and one self-employed parent.
Health insurance has been inconsistent for them. They value health care coverage, especially since they have two active kids, but sometimes the price tag is just too high.
Right now, they have some health care coverage through a Health Sharing Ministry, but well-checks are not part of the plan. And really, the hardest part for kids Ethan and Erik has been the frequent switching of providers to fit into whatever insurance plan they have each year.
Consistency is paramount when it comes to kids’ healthcare. Forming a strong, trusting relationship with a physician can be the difference between poor health (mental and physical!) and optimal health. Because Frontier doesn’t go through insurance, there are no networks to worry about. We value small businesses like ours and do what we can to ensure everyone has access to the consistent, quality healthcare they want and deserve.
Ready to Join the Frontier Family?
