Frequently Asked Questions

Chances are your life is busy and stressful. When you get sick and need help, you shouldn’t have to spend hours trying to get an appointment, only to be told to go the local urgent care center where you wait again to see someone who doesn’t even know you or your family.

In the meantime, you’ve missed a day of work or the kids have missed a day of school. Plus, you’re sitting in the waiting room wondering, “How much is all of this going to cost?”

Coachella Valley Direct Primary Care was created to provide frustration-free healthcare. By offering same-day or next-day visits, using technology to offer virtual visits, and offering a monthly membership fee with unlimited visits, we bring primary care services directly to you so you can be healthy and active.

We are located at 35400 Bob Hope Drive, Suite 206, in Rancho Mirage, California. Please see our Contact and Directions page for details or call us for any questions.

We are not an insurance plan. While we can get you active and healthy through our primary care services, we encourage everyone to have major medical insurance coverage for those times when an unexpected emergency occurs. We work with Sedera Healthcare, which partners with direct primary care doctors, such as Coachella Valley Direct Primary Care, to offer affordable healthcare coverage. Please call us for further questions.

The short answer: In many ways, insurance companies dictate or strongly influence the treatment that patients receive at “in-network” clinics, and we refuse to allow that to be the case at Coachella Valley Direct Primary Care.

The longer answer: We are an out-of-network medical clinic because the business model necessary for an in-network practice to survive rarely allows for the high level of care we insist on giving our patients.

Due to progressively worsening reimbursement rates and pressure from insurance companies, the providers at in-network medical clinics have to see at least 30 patients a day (usually many more), which is often why your appointments are never on time. The visits are often 15 minutes or less. The majority of the patient’s time is spent waiting to see the doctor and then the care often includes simply prescribing medications. Furthermore, these types of clinics tend to require patients to be seen when it is convenient for them and not you (no appointments available for 6 weeks or even longer).

We don’t believe a 15-minute visit is sufficient to provide comprehensive quality care, and we don’t agree with having you wait for an appointment that was not convenient for you.

All our patients receive one-on-one care and hands-on treatment from a medical doctor on every visit. Most visits are up to a full hour unless the patient chooses less time. With this long visit and one-on-one treatment approach, the plan of care for the vast majority of our patients is comprehensive. We offer unlimited visits, including face-to-face appointments, texting, or video chat.

When you consider the time savings of fewer trips to the clinic from virtual visits, having unlimited visits every month, and the value of a doctor who cares about you and not your insurance, the out-of-pocket expense at Coachella Valley Direct Primary Care is a huge bargain.

On top of that, the out-of-pocket expense for our monthly membership is sometimes less than a patient would pay at a clinic that accepts and bills their insurance.

How is that possible?!
As deductibles and medical visit copays have skyrocketed in recent years, many of our patients who have high medical visit copays or have not met their deductible pay less out of pocket for our monthly membership fees than they would if they went to a clinic that “takes their insurance.”

Before you base your medical care on which clinics accept your insurance, make sure you know how much you’ll be paying at an in-network clinic versus an out-of-network clinic like ours.

Some insurance plans require copays of more than $50 per visit. And, if you have a deductible to meet, you’ll likely end up paying the full bill for every medical or urgent care visit until you meet the deductible (and these bills are often $200 or more per visit).

However, you usually won’t start receiving those $200 bills until after you’ve been getting care and generated a sizable balance. And guess what else … just because you’re paying $200 per visit at a clinic that is in-network with your insurance, does not mean your insurance is applying that full amount toward your deductible. The insurance company often only applies the amount it agreed is reasonable for your medical visit, and, of course, that is always far less than the amount the clinic charges.

Most people are unaware of the games their insurance company plays in order to pay out as little as possible and maximize its profits.

As you weigh your primary care options, consider these four points:

1. Inquire with your insurance company about what percentage of the total medical bill you will be required to pay at an in-network clinic (especially if you still have a deductible to meet). If you will be paying 100% of the bill until you’ve met your deductible, ask the prospective medical clinic the amount of the average bill sent to an insurance company (the medical clinic’s amount on the bill, not what the insurance company has agreed it will pay the clinic). In most cases, you will ultimately be paying the full bill until your deductible is met.
2. If you have met your deductible, ask how much your copays will be. Ask what is not covered by the copay.
3. Consider the quality of care you’ll be receiving at your in-network options. How much value do you place on receiving higher-quality, one-on-one care from a medical doctor that provides one-hour visits and same- or next-day appointments.
4. Consider how often you’ll be missing work and/or time with family while trying to get an appointment in 6 weeks. Again, you can ask any prospective clinic how often they see someone the same day or next day and if they offer unlimited visits.

Ask these questions, do the math and you might be quite surprised at what you find!

With all the above information, you can now get a real sense of what your true costs will be, what level of care you’ll be getting, and then make the best decision on where to receive your medical care.

* One other thing to consider is whether you have just one deductible or if you have both an in-network deductible and an out-of-network deductible. If you have two deductibles, then claims from an out-of-network clinic like ours will not apply to your in-network deductible.