Ep #152: Does Direct Primary Care Make Sense for Your Clients? – With Samir Qamar – Part 1

On this episode, we’re honored to be speaking to a pioneer and disruptor in direct primary care (DPC): Samir Qamar, M.D. Dr. Qamar is the founder and CEO of two companies, MedLion and MedWand. DPC revisits a traditional business model that eliminates insurance for non-catastrophic health care needs.In this first episode of our two-part interview, we asked Dr. Qamar to talk about the ins and outs of the direct primary care model and share his unique journey into that field. We also talk about how the direct primary care pioneers were able to get the DPC inserted into the ACA, and how DPC realigns incentives. We’ll explore how DPC might be a good fit for clients struggling with today’s increased personal responsibility amounts, and how they coordinate with and complement high deductible plans.DPC offers an exciting alternative as insurance rates and health care costs continue to skyrocket. Dr. Qamar shares how health care costs can be dramatically reduced by taking a fresh look at how we price primary care services. The quality of care and access improves with this new approach. Benefit advisors will learn how to best position this service to assist their clients.What You’ll Learn From this Episode:What a direct primary care is and how it differs from fee-for-service.How Dr. Qamar developed a direct primary care practice catering to the general public.How a key change in PPACA made a big difference.Whether DPC is an individual play, a group play, or both.Why insurance is unnecessary in primary care.Strategies that benefit advisors should know to help clients avoid penalties and adverse experiences with DPC.