FAQs 2 — Antioch Med

Frequently Asked Questions

If a question remains unanswered after looking through our most common questions, feel free to contact us and ask directly!

Membership

The membership fee allows us to provide the majority of primary care in an innovative way for a simple, fixed price. It allows members to better budget their healthcare finances and helps our practice provide the services we offer at affordable prices.
Once you have established care with our practice we are available to our patients on a same/next day basis for office visits. We require an initial visit prior to starting your membership and establishing care. New members are added on a first-come, first-served basis. Our office will communicate with you regarding the timing of your first visit as your desired physician’s availability and schedule allows.
The membership fee is better thought of as a more affordable and efficient way to access primary care. Many members save on their yearly total health spend by combining primary care with Antioch Med and a high-deductible health insurance product or medical cost-sharing plan.
No, we do not provide visits or care outside of our standard membership. However, if you would have questions about our membership, we want to get them answered and ensure that our care will be a good fit for you!
What if I decide to cancel? Our goal is always to have long term continuity with patients. If you are not planning to remain a long term patient we would recommend other care options for you. However, we understand that sometimes things change and our membership agreement has a 30-day opt-out if you decide to cancel services. If your membership lapses and you would like to renew your membership with us there is a re-initiation fee of $200 if availability allows.
A little, but without the high price tag . . . or valet parking! We provide a concierge level of service to all members but try to make things affordable for people of all incomes, with or without insurance.
Absolutely, and often these are the members who see the most benefit from our services. Our memberships (eligibility and fees) are not based on any existing medical issues or conditions.
No, we do NOT have any income or health guidelines to become a member. Our fees are the same regardless of income, insurance arrangement, level of health, or utilization of our services.
That is great! Our primary focus is to keep members well and to avoid lots of "medical" care. As such, we can dedicate more time to prevention and lifestyle issues to continue to keep you away from the expensive, cumbersome healthcare system. However, when you do need care, we are easily available to give care. A single ER visit avoided typically pays for a few years of memberships at Antioch Med!
Our physicians only are licensed in the state of Kansas and cannot practice medicine in other states. If a member establishes care (has a visit) in-person, we can provide remote monitoring of issues over phone and internet for some period of time. Ultimately, some care (sick visits, etc.) must be provided in-person, so we do not encourage patients to join our practice unless they can reasonably visit us in person on a regular basis.

Fees

Nope. We provide most care to members without any fees at all! If we do charge for non-covered services, we are always transparent with our pricing. If we recommend outside services, we try very hard to find you an upfront, reasonable price if paying cash.
All members have access to many basic labs and diagnostic testing (EKG, urine dipstick, pregnancy test, etc.) for no charge at all. For non-covered labs, we offer significantly discounted and wholesale prices - 50-90% less than insurance-based prices. Some of our prices can be seen here. Feel free to contact us for specific lab pricing.
Contact us with specific requests. We are committed to upfront pricing of all of our services.
For any fees for non-covered services, we expect full payment at time of service for most services, including medications, labs, procedures, etc.
We do not charge "per visit". New members must pay a minimum of one month of membership fees at their first visit while establishing care. If any non-covered services are required (labs, medications, etc.) the first visit cost may be slightly more.
All wellness visits are provided at no cost to all members!

Visits

Our regular clinic hours are 8:00am-Noon and 1:00pm-5:00pm, Monday-Friday. However, all members have access to physician regardless of the time of day for urgent needs.
Do I need an appointment?While we can always offer same or next-day visits to our members, though we do require scheduling all visits beforehand. A quick phone call or text to verify that we are free is usually all that is required.
As long as you need! Taking into consideration the number and complexity of medical issues, most of our clinic visits are scheduled for 30-60 minutes.
Specialists, diagnostic testing, ER, hospital?We can order or refer just like other insurance-based physicians. For some outside services we have access to negotiated cash prices, especially for imaging and lab. Many ER visits for things like stitches and simple fractures can be managed at our office, thereby avoiding trips to the ER. If you should need hospitalized or require major surgery, we will be sure to advocate for you as your primary care physician and assist you by speaking to the medical team.
Only within Wichita city limits and with prior approval. We rarely perform house calls as the best place for your doctor to see you is in the place where they have the best resources to care for you, which typically is in the office.
"Virtual visits" should be thought of as a supplement to good primary care. Generally, if the issue does NOT require a physical exam, a virtual visit is fine. Many chronic issues (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, etc.) can be largely managed by email and virtual visits. However, issues requiring a physical exam (e.g. coughs, sinus infections, ear infection, new pain, etc.) we will recommend a traditional clinic visit.

Insurance & Health Plans

No, Antioch Med is not an insurance company.
No. Antioch Med is a great way to receive high-quality primary health care, but we do believe a more comprehensive solution is needed for unexpected and catastrophic events. We can help with this or would be glad to refer you to someone who can assist you in finding a plan that works well with Antioch Med's offerings.
No. Antioch Med does NOT contract with any private or public insurance plans.
Not likely for individuals. However, this type of practice is loosely termed “Direct Primary Care” and is mentioned briefly in the Affordable Care Act as "participating in insurance exchanges with a wrap-around insurance plan”. The details of such are still very unclear, but we are not waiting around for Washington or any other capitols to provide our community with high-quality, affordable primary care.
We do not contract with any Medicaid/KanCare plans and cannot bill them for our services. Medicaid/KanCare recipients are welcome to join Antioch Med but will likely also be assigned a "network Primary Care Physician (PCP)" that may be required to access other health plan benefits and services.
We gladly care for patients with Medicare, though our services are still billed through our membership directly to patients and those charges are not able to be submitted for reimbursement to Medicare. We are able to refer patients to specialists where Medicare can be used for payment or to order labs/medications to be obtained with Medicare benefits. Please contact us with any questions and we are glad to discuss options.
In most cases, yes. Your insurance plans will continue to operate “as usual” at other doctor's offices, hospitals, and pharmacies. PPO-style plans do not require a designated “gatekeeper” doctor for referrals, medications, tests, etc. Antioch Med physicians can order or refer just as another doctor would do. HMO-style plans may require an in-network designated primary doctor for access to other services.
Insurance companies generally do NOT recognize our membership fees as reimbursable expenses. For non-covered service fees (labs, meds, imaging, etc.) we provide an itemized invoice on a monthly basis and you can attempt to submit to your insurance plan if you wish. However, most of our members have not found it not worth the time and effort to do so.
Please contact an accounting or legal professional to discuss this matter as there is considerable debate regarding what qualifies for FSA and HSA spending. This is a confusing topic and the IRS has not provided clarity on it to date. There is current legislation pending to clarify this issue.
We are not financial or health insurance advisers and recommend you speak with a professional in that industry if you have questions. We would be glad to connect you with one in Wichita , or you can look at the solutions we recommend. We can provide day-to-day services and a high-deductible plan or a cost-sharing plan can help limit the enormous expenses of a major event.

Medical Services & Medications

We think of our business model as an alternative to managed care medicine, but we are not "alternative" in in the way we practice medicine. Our physicians are board-certified family physician (American Board of Family Physicians) and practice very traditional and highly evidence-based medicine. Our physicians are some of the top trained Family Physicians in the nation from the Via Christi residency program in Wichita.
Yes. We can provide standard women’s and gynecologic services, including pelvic exams, pap smears, birth control and menopause management. Drs. Nick, Alleman, and Elson all provide comprehensive women’s care and deliver babies in the hospital. We see OB and newborn care as one of the most rewarding aspects of primary care and a major medical need in Wichita and hope to grow our obstetric practice rapidly! See our Services page if you are interested in finding out more.
Can my doctor see me?Thankfully, by taking care of patients well, we avoid a number of hospital visit. When you do need to be admitted, we utilize a hospitalist service to see our patients for medical needs and coordinate care and communicate with them regularly to make sure you receive the best care possible.
Absolutely! 30% or more of our current practice is made of pediatric patients. We can provide all standard childhood health care services including yearly physicals, acute care (sore throats). and chronic disease management (asthma, allergies, etc.). We are able to provide immunizations for many patients through insurance, and partner with the Sedgwick County Health Department for vaccines in those who are uninsured or on cost-sharing plans.
We believe that it is reasonable for parents to be cautious regarding injecting or ingesting artificial substances into their children's body! However, medical evidence shows (and we agree) that the benefits of vaccines far outweigh their risks. We recommend a standard schedule of childhood & adult vaccines per the CDC schedule.
There are many modalities available to help minimize the pain of chronic conditions and we work aggressively with patients to achieve adequate comfort. Antioch Med's physicians generally have a cautious and conservative approach to using narcotic/opiate medications such as hydrocodone, morphine, Lortab, Percocet, etc. We rarely use these controlled and potentially dangerous medications for acute pain, and we have a policy of not prescribing opiate or other controlled medications for chronic problems.
Our doctors are comfortable providing primary care for most any mental health problem, including prescribing medications related to these problems. Antioch Med's physicians generally have a conservative and careful approach when using medications to treat mental health problems and strongly promote the use of non-medicine therapies and lifestyle changes.
Most cases of attention-related problems can be managed with lifestyle changes, therapy, and educational techniques. Our physicians are extremely cautious regarding the use of stimulants (Ritalin, Adderall, etc.), though occasionally they are needed and appropriate. If someone does require pharmaceutical management for ADD/ADHD, we may first require confirmation of diagnosis or assistance in management from a specialist before initiating or continuing treatment with stimulants.