Insurance Policy
“A small but growing number of doctors are ditching insurance companies and working directly with patients.”
Healthcare insurance is… complicated. You can see it in the news cycle, more and more patients are becoming frustrated with the level of care provided. In order to provide optimal care, the office of Dr. Barry J. Klyde does not accept insurance directly. The office will assist you in getting reimbursement from your existing policy.
Some resources
1. More One-on-One Time A typical new patient may see Dr. Klyde for an hour consultation, a follow up appointment may be 30 minutes, and for complicated conditions or multiple issues appointments can be up to one-and-a-half hours of Doctor to patient time.
2. More Flexibility With Appointments Dr. Klyde keeps open time in the daily schedule to help get urgent and time sensitive issues handled quickly. His proximity to New York Hospital, makes visiting patients admitted to the hospital very . You won’t be out of touch.
3. Better Care Taking the time to really assess a situation, and having the flexibility to work urgent needs into the schedule are the cornerstones of good care, but it doesn’t stop there. Having in office laboratory that can deliver results the same day or next day drastically cuts the waiting associated with insurance driven medicine. Ultimately, doing the things necessary to get to the correct diagnosis, then starting treatment is our goal. This is better care.
4. Price Transparency With direct patient billing, you know what things are going to cost, and have a say in the decision process. In many cases the cost of procedures are at or below the cost when compared to alternatives, and offer the convenience of being handled in-office. With insurance out of the loop, the office can be much more efficient, ultimately keeping costs under control.
take the time you need
Usually the reason your Primary Care Physician suggests that you see a specialist is a good one: You have a problem that would benefit from such expert care. This is when the doctor-patient relationship will be built and tested. Patients are looking for help, making life saving decisions. This is no time break out the stopwatch.
The driving forces of direct insurance coverage favor large medical practices with high throughput. In the 1992 Medicare plan the first "relative value unit" formula was published to standardize care and billing practices. This began a decaying process which today minimizes the amount of time a doctor can actually spend one-on-one with the patient, and puts single or small practices out of business.
Under this paradigm the average doctor/patient visit time in a 1998-2000 study was found to be 15.7 minutes (Ming et al). Not only frustrating to the patient and physician, this practice degrades the quality of care.
This is the principal driving factor in Dr. Klyde’s practice, and the no direct insurance policy:
Patients are not relative value units, and their time will not be treated as such.
The office of Dr. Barry J. Klyde is an established practice of over 40 years, this is medicine with a proven track record. We promise to be courteous of your time spent away from work and family, but also promise to provide you with as much time as you need to fully understand your options and care.
care TAILORED to you
Unfortunately in insurance driven medicine doctors are becoming increasingly driven to practice “cookie cutter medicine”. Additionally, “step therapy” or “fail-first” protocols are requiring physicians to try low cost alternatives to proven successful treatments. Third parties are making decisions, dictating their own formularies, and outsourcing lab work to additional third parties. Unfortunately, insurers have the upper hand, and there is little to stop them from denying treatment when people need it most.
It is no wonder people have such a distrust for the medical profession.
The additional people and resources to manage this process is enormous, much of which is not directed at actually providing the best patient care possible.
Dr. Klyde believes medicine should be better than this. Medicine should be more direct than this. Particularly when reaching out to a specialist, patients need care prescribed not from a checklist, but from experience and compassion. Dr. Klyde will examine not just the presenting symptoms but a lifestyle, to look for ways beyond the prescription to alleviate or minimize the condition.
This comes down to getting to know you, establishing the doctor-patient relationship, and working with you to stand up a practical care plan based around you, your needs and your life.
help with the insurance you have
Specialized private care can be an intimidating option to those first approaching the subject. The differences to the private doctor are a one-on-one relationship with your physician and their staff.
You’re not alone
Our staff will help you with the necessary forms and polices to get reimbursement from your existing healthcare plan. Not all plans and policies cover specialized care and testing, we will help you though the process of getting reimbursement.
Medical conditions arise when they arise, you don’t get to pick the time when it’s convenient to fall ill when every other “duck is in a row”. If you’re underinsured, have no insurance, or are caught in some insurance limbo (Maybe you just quit a job, just started a job, are unemployed, are in a protracted argument with your job about whether you actually have benefits, and so on), private care might be an option for you.
Although paying out of pocket for services is concerning, having direct doctor-to-patient care puts you more actively in control of the steps of treatment, and their associated costs. It also reduces the occurrences of incorrect diagnosis, and subsequent treatments thereby reducing the overall care cost. It’s a choice the patient has to make for themselves, we’re here to answer any questions you have about the process.