It was not made clear to me during the discovery call that the $129 a month was solely for…read moremembership. Basically, you get the the privilege of booking appointments. The 1 hr initial visit is not *included* with membership, nor are the 30 minute follow up visits. Your insurance will be billed for every appointment, and you will pay whatever copay you owe beyond that, in addition to the $129 month (or more!). If you look at the screenshot attached, it does seem like these appointments are included.
On the concierge medicine page, it, again, makes it sound like certain visits are included with membership: "The cost of concierge medicine in Boston can vary, but at Five Journeys, we offer transparent pricing and flexible plans to suit your needs. A standard package at Five Journeys begins at $129 per month. This package includes a 1-hour initial visit, 30-minute follow-up appointments, a 25% discount on wellness services, and a free musculoskeletal health assessment."
If you scroll further down the membership website page, you will see: "Most insurances are accepted for appointment fees, or members may self-pay. Please note that Medicaid and MassHealth are not accepted." It still doesn't specifically say that ALL appointments have your regular copay, on top of the monthly membership fee.
It really needs to be stressed that the membership doesn't include the cost of any actual medical care. It is all fee-per-visit, just like any other practice. This was not stressed in my discovery call, or I would have said, "Oops. This isn't for me."
I naively thought that they made up their money on supplements, add-on wellness services, testing, and all the months that you didn't see your functional medicine doctor. How often would you go in? 3 or 4 times a year? They are getting that $129 a month regardless of whether or not you're ever there.
Labs are not discounted. You can get most of the lab draws cheaper through walkinlabs.co, particularly in combined form. (i.e. B12 and folate together, instead of separate test codes.) The 87 item food antibody test and the stool test are also available from walkinlab.com. If you are at the point where you haven't hit your deductible and have to pay out of pocket, there is no advantage to not going with walk-in lab and just bringing the results to your primary doc if there is anything concerning.
I should also mention that the initial labs suggested to me as a new patient ran about $3000. Out of pocket, as I haven't hit my deductible yet. Again, you can find most of the labs cheaper. But it was still going to be about $2000.
I didn't find the dietitian services all that helpful.
I was looking for more menu planning and macros. It felt more like a therapy session and I already have a therapist.
I liked my NP, during the one appointment we had. But I just can't see that the added cost is going to bring me enough benefit to justify continuing.