FAQ

A membership model where comprehensive primary care services are provided in an innovative way for an affordable, monthly fee. DPC provides members with direct access to their personal physician providing comprehensive primary care designed around you achieving your optimal health.

You may view this short video to learn more about the DPC model.

The monthly rate (includes unlimited access with no additional fees, copays or deductibles) is $125 for individuals age 17+.  The one-time $200 registration fee is waived for spouses or members of the primary member’s household.  Members opting to pay annually receive their 12th month free.  See the Benefits & Pricing tab for details.

The monthly fee covers comprehensive primary care including wellness, prevention, health coaching, chronic disease management, acute visits, and care for the occasional sick days. Members receive unlimited in-person, phone, text, and video visits with Dr. Saxman. In-office lab tests and in-office procedures are also included.

Members have access to negotiated rates for DPC practices such as discounted lab prices (up to 90% of what insurance is charged) through Quest and access to discounted x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasound (up to 50%) at Oregon Imaging and McKenzie Medical Imaging.

Members may opt to purchase many generic medications directly from Inspire Health DPC’s mini-pharmacy for added convenience and cost savings.

Finally, we actively work to coordinate and navigate your experience in the broader healthcare system.

No. We work for you and not your insurance company. There is no insurance billing due to high-overhead staffing, operational complexity, and the restrictions it imposes.  

However, members may still use their health insurance for outside services such as lab, imaging, pharmacy, specialty or hospital care.

Medicare recipients may join Inspire Health DPC and receive the same membership benefits with their monthly fee.

No, we are neither health insurance nor an alternative to health insurance. We are a highly effective way to access exceptional primary care, and we recommend everyone have health insurance or a medical cost sharing plan to cover both unexpected and expensive medical costs.

There are no hidden fees, and we seek to provide transparent pricing for our membership and included services outlined in the patient agreement. We even seek to establish cash pricing options for services we refer out for, such as MRI imaging or colonoscopy screening.

Our goal is longterm member satisfaction, but you may cancel at any time as outlined in the Patient Agreement.

For members that cancel and then want to re-enroll within 18 months, there is a $200 re-enrollment fee if availability allows.

A free meet-and-greet visit with Dr. Saxman is required to review how the model works, answer all questions, and make sure it’s a good fit for you before your membership becomes official.

Labs will be scheduled at the lab of your choice. You may use your medical insurance to pay for testing according to the terms of that lab. Or, if you have no insurance, a high-deductible insurance plan, a health share plan or uncertain coverage, you may choose to take advantage of deeply discounted (up to 90%) negotiated cash prices where Inspire Health DPC pays Quest Labs directly, and that charge (known to you at time of ordering) is added to your next monthly membership fee.

All imaging from simple x-rays to MRI scans can be ordered at Oregon Imaging Center (OIC) or other local imaging centers where you may use your insurance according to the terms of that center. Discounted cash rates have been negotiated for DPC members at OIC and McKenzie Medical Imaging which you will pay at those centers.

DPC membership is not a substitute for calling 911. You may then call Dr. Saxman directly and he will work with the ER doctor or hospitalist to provide whatever information or insight is helpful to direct your hospital care. Courtesy privileges and records access are maintained at Sacred Heart or McKenzie Willamette for effective communication and coordination of after-hospital care including home health, physical therapy, etc.

Absolutely. As a DPC member, expert coordination of specialty care and other aspects of the healthcare system is an important benefit. Even though DPC physicians do not bill insurance, they may still make referrals to specialists and coordinate care with outside entities that do bill your insurance.

Probably. Each member’s clinical situation is unique, but as a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, Dr. Saxman has the expertise to manage and monitor a wide variety of chronic medical problems/treatments and coordinate return consultation to a specialist as needed.

We fully support extremely healthy people, those facing the challenges of multiple chronic conditions, and those in between. We meet you wherever you are, personalizing care to meet your unique needs. Everyone benefits from the time and comprehensive services we offer, and membership is not based on pre-existing conditions or level of health.

For healthy folks, we focus the bulk of our time on both keeping you healthy and optimizing your health from extensive studies in Lifestyle Medicine in which Dr. Saxman is trained and Board Eligible.  We are also there for the unexpected and occasional sick days, helping you avoid the potentially significant expense of a trip to the ER or urgent care.

We do not offer one-time visits, including one-time visits for a second opinion. We want to have a long term doctor-patient relationship with you, and therefore only offer ongoing memberships.

We manage chronic pain with non-opiate therapies. We generally do not accept new patients who are on chronic opioid medications, unless you have a separate prescriber for those medications.

We deliver evidence-based care, seeking robust scientific evidence in all the care we provide while adapting it to personal values. Focusing on whole-person care, shared decision making, and the intrinsic impact of social determinants is primary care. Dr. Saxman has training and is interested in assessing the root causes of illness. We value our collaborative relationships with various other skilled providers in our community.

Office hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Members can reach Dr. Saxman directly by text and cell phone on weekends and evenings for urgent issues or to assess whether a problem requires urgent care. (Direct Primary Care is not a substitute for calling 911 for an emergency.)

Direct Primary Care is a wise lifestyle choice for both you and Dr. Saxman, and downtime is important.  Members will be notified in advance of planned physician vacations so that routine appointments can be scheduled accordingly.  Fortunately due to much smaller patient panels and much greater appointment availability, this is generally not an issue with DPC.

Arrangements will be made in advance for another DPC physician with the same scope of practice to cover any immediate issues which arise when Dr. Saxman is out of town.

In short, as much time as you need. Our shortest appointment time is 30 minutes, and annual or comprehensive appointments are 60 minutes or more. We value this time to look beneath the surface at the root cause of illness with a focus on helping support you to achieve optimal health.

The DPC model addresses almost all the pain points in traditional primary care.

• Rather than the fee-for-service model which emphasizes maximizing patient visit numbers, DPC success is achieved by keeping its members as healthy as possible.
• Rather than corporate practices mandating ever increasing patent panel sizes, DPC physicians cap their panel at manageable levels (usually 75% less) in order to serve members personally with direct access, more time and a higher level of comprehensive care.
• Rather than having 5 to 10 minutes of time with “a provider” after waiting for 30 minutes or more, you get 30 to 60 minutes of time with your personal physician with minimal to no wait.
• Rather than reactively treating people with illness, there is a renewed focus on the root causes of illness and addressing lifestyle factors to keep you healthy in the first place.
• Rather than having no predictability on cost, with copays, surprise bills, and denied claims as the norm, you know exactly what you are paying every month.
• Rather than only delivering care in ways reimbursed by insurance, care is delivered on your terms, whether it be in-person, over the phone, by text or video exchange.
• Rather than facing constant stress and practicing on the edge of burnout, primary care doctors can focus on being excellent physicians, having great relationships with members, and again love this deeply meaningful calling.
• Rather than focusing on checking the correct boxes to get paid by an insurance company, physicians just focus on you, your unique situation, and helping you to optimize your health.

Primary care as it is meant to be.