Membershipbased Health Care Now Available In Petoskey — No Insurance Necessary

PETOSKY - A new approach to health care is coming from Traverse City in Petoskey with a second Table Health location at 3890 Charlevoix Ave.

Table Health is a membership-based health program. Members pay a monthly fee and have access to all medical services offered. Because employees don't have to spend as much time on insurance, patients receive more care and attention from doctors, according to Jill Butrin, president of Table Health.

There are no co-pays or deductibles, and some medications are included with the membership, such as blood pressure medications and antibiotics. Patients have to pay for lab work, but Butrin said they only pay wholesale costs, so costs are still lower than elsewhere.

Table Health's first site opened in Traverse City in 2018 as a wellness-focused clinic offering functional medicine, a patient-centered, disease-based treatment approach, according to its website. Taula Health website.

Finally, Table Health added direct primary care (DPC) to its services due to patient demand.

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According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, direct primary care is for primary care services that patients pay directly to the physician. By eliminating third-party insurance providers, patients can benefit from better access to their doctors, longer visits and more personalized care.

"We've never accepted insurance for our services. This was probably driven by a number of things, but primarily the increasingly difficult billing insurance for physicians and the feeling that it's taking away the patient relationship," Butrin said.

"Complexity and rules are sometimes incompatible with a real doctor-patient relationship."

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Members pay a $150 application fee and then a monthly family member fee, which is determined by age and ranges from $30 for children to $92 for those 65 and older. Monthly fees do not increase due to pre-existing conditions.

Tabella Health includes an overview of services included in the monthly fee on its website and is committed to price transparency with its patients, Butrin said.

Beyond individuals and families, Table Health partners with businesses to provide first-class care directly to employees.

"This is good for employees because the employer covers the cost of tuition through their health plan. And so it can be a whole family member, which is a very nice benefit. And it's also good for employers, because the direct primary care model lowers the cost of health care for large employers. because it has been shown to reduce the overall," Butrin said.

Table Health does not include specialty care, eye or dental care. Members are therefore encouraged to take out some form of insurance to cover these other needs. Table Health Petoskey will focus directly on primary care and not offer functional medicine.

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Vince Winkler is a family physician who was hired as a physician at Prince Table Health Petoskey. Winklerprins is originally from Michigan and has worked in Brazil and the Netherlands as well as several states during his career.

“I was looking for a way to come back to Michigan and practice a direct primary care model. I am a family doctor with many years of experience and I am fed up with the limitations the insurance model places on my ability to care for my patients and my ability to spend more time with my patients. Physicians are responsible for their primary care and costs," Winklerprins said in an email.

"DPC is the best way. This is not a new model and has been developed in the US over the last two decades. I like being free and independent from payment systems, so I have more time to get to know each patient, expand the range of services I can offer and save people money .

A typical Winklerprins session lasts 30-60 minutes, depending on the reason for the visit. It started accepting new patients in January.

“I am very happy to have him on our team in Petoskey. I always try to adapt the doctor to the community where he will work and Dr. It is a great fit in the Winklerprince community of Petoskey. She is very involved in her practice and is very excited to see the families. I think he will be a great mentor and a great positive force in the Petoskey community,” Butrin said.

Next year, Table Health will focus on establishing the Petoskey site before opening new offices throughout northwest Michigan in the coming years.

"Our mission is to redefine health care, and that's what primary care does directly. We've come to use health care and insurance interchangeably and not the same thing. Insurance is insurance and health care is health care. And health care we believe that it should be transparent, the relationship between doctor and patient should be truly respected and valued," said Butrin.

"In the beginning, insurance started a long time ago as a way to cover hospital bills. But as we've evolved to cover more, insurance companies become more involved in every interaction. And that can be very confusing for people. The slogan is simple: it's high. cost, it's transparent and respects the doctor-patient relationship we have lost."

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey.

This article originally appeared in the Petoskey News-Review: Peer-based health care now available in Petoskey

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