Frequently Asked Questions

No, and for good reason! By cutting out the chaos and restrictions created by billing insurance companies, we can provide unparalleled care without the need for co-pays and unexpected medical bills. We make it simple; the monthly membership fee covers everything we do at the clinic with few exceptions. We never bill insurance, we never collect a co-pay, and we never send unexpected bills. If you do have insurance, great! While outside labs and imaging have all been pre-negotiated with outside vendors at significantly discounted prices, if you still want to use insurance and pay full price for these services, you can. We are not an insurance company. We are medical professionals providing excellent care with completely transparent pricing.

In providing high quality medical care that is quick and convenient, we are able to prevent or reduce the need for many hospitalizations and specialty referrals. If the need does arise, we will closely coordinate with any outside specialists and hospitals and keep them accountable to providing you with the best possible care. We are not affiliated with any large healthcare systems, insurance companies, or large medical corporations. Thus, we decide together who will best serve your needs. We do encourage you to carry insurance for specific situations that are outside of routine and preventative medical care.

There is no co-pay and there never will be. Co-pays are created by insurance companies as a penalty for seeking medical care. Instead, we provide everything we do for a single membership fee. We don’t believe in penalizing members for seeking the care they need. After all, that is what we are here for, convenient and accessible care when you need it.

Possibly. At Baxter Family Medicine, we provide everything we do for the membership fee, with rare exception. However, outside services such as labs, pathology specimens, and imaging may require additional cost. Fortunately, we have pre-negotiated steep discounts with our vendors and have completely transparent pricing.

Getting a visit scheduled is easy. Simply call us, send us an e-mail, or even shoot us a text message and you will be scheduled at your convenience. Appointments may be telephone, video, or in-office visits. If you call and request an appointment before noon, we will get you in the same day. Any appointment requests received after noon, will be scheduled the same day if possible, or the next day. Same day and next day appointments will typically be scheduled for 30-minutes. However, for more complex issues or annual wellness visits a 60-minute appointment will be required.

You will not have to pay for office visits or routine physicals. There are no copays. You may also be able to avoid many visits altogether by sending your questions directly to us via email and text, something you won’t get from a traditional practice. We have negotiated amazingly low lab costs and radiological studies, allowing great opportunities for cost savings.

Yes. We recommend our patients maintain health care insurance with at least high-deductible plan if possible. It you experience a major health issue; you will still need insurance coverage.

You do not need insurance to be a member with us. DPC is a great opportunity for patients without insurance to have affordable access to primary care. We do recommend everyone have insurance for emergencies and other needs, but we do not require it. In addition, to make sure our members are getting the highest value, we have contracted directly with vendors to offer our members labs and imaging at deeply discounted prices.

Yes! You will need to sign a waiver stating you understand Baxter Family Medicine will not bill Medicare for any of the services we provide AND that you will also not bill Medicare for any of the services we provide. Even though Medicare will not pay us for any services you receive in our practice, your Medicare benefits will otherwise remain unchanged and can continue to be used for all other medical care you receive outside of our practice.

Unfortunately, no. Medicaid will not pay for our membership dues nor will they allow us to accept payment for membership dues from their clients.

Probably. Tricare Select & Tricare For Life work well with DPC, we can prescribe and refer when necessary. Unfortunately, Tricare Prime does not work quite so well with DPC membership because it limits our ability to do referrals by requiring all referrals go through specific Tricare physicians.

Patients can cancel their membership at any time by submitting the cancellation in writing with 30 days advance notice. Cancellations can be mailed to the clinic at Baxter Family Medicine, 10 Pier 1, Suite 301, Astoria, OR, 97103, or sent by email to BaxterDPC@BaxterFamilyMedicine.com. There is a $200 re-enrollment fee for patients wishing to return to the clinic and they may be placed on a waiting list in the event the clinic is full.