Portland Direct Primary Care
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Beyond 7 minutes

I trained as a Family Doctor so that I would be ready to help patients with any challenge. The old school family doc used to take that skill set out into the community on house calls, sports sidelines, and town hall meetings. At some point the job description was boiled down into a job that started and ended with a 7 minute office visit. That setup is not good for patients, and it's not good for doctors. In this column I hope to start to push the boundary of where the doctor patient interaction takes place - onto the page, into the community, and beyond 7 minutes.

To my patients re: Taro Health

As a loyal Portland DPC patient, I wanted you to be among the first to know about an exciting expansion of Direct Primary Care in Maine. In the coming weeks, you may see some media announcements and internet advertisements from a company I and other DPCs have partnered with called Taro Health. Taro Health is offering a first-in-the-nation health insurance plan which allows people to buy a normal ACA-compliant insurance coverage which will INCLUDE a membership at a DPC practice.

Taro Health is a partner, but DPC is still 100% independent and will always be available to those with or without insurance. Whether you choose to have Taro Health insurance, other insurance, or no insurance you are welcome at DPC. This is an opt in program. If you do not want to participate, nothing will change for you in terms of your direct primary care experience or your insurance. We are not changing our fees or how we do business. This will be an **OPTIONAL** addition to everything you are already used to at DPC.

I have decided to partner with Taro Health because I believe spreading the word and giving more people access to affordable comprehensive direct primary care is the right thing to do, and probably one of the best ways to fix our broken health care system. Taro Health will allow us to reach even more people, but more importantly will offer existing patients a choice to change insurance to a more DPC friendly option.

In this email I wanted to answer a few important questions for you as an existing patient and also for your friends, family and neighbors who may come to you as a DPC expert and ask for your advice.

If you have Medicare, Tricare, MaineCare, or insurance through an employer, you are NOT eligible for the Taro insurance program. If you purchase your Individual, Family, or Small Business health insurance through CoverME.gov (Maine’s ACA Marketplace) AND you live in **Cumberland County**, you ARE eligible for Taro insurance and will save money. If you are uninsured or use an healthshare, Taro may also be a great option should you choose to switch to traditional insurance.


What is Taro Health?

Taro Health is a fully-licensed, major medical health insurance plan you can purchase for you and your family. It functions like normal health insurance in that it will pay for some or all of your medical expenses including medications, lab tests, imaging, ER visits, hospital visits, surgeries and specialty care. Insurance coverage will INCLUDE a membership at a DPC practice.


Why would I want to change my insurance?

If you are already a member of my practice AND you purchase insurance through the ACA or CoverME.gov, you may be able to save money by switching to a Taro Health DPC plan.

If you are already a member of DPC and you DO NOT have insurance, this may be a more affordable option to add insurance coverage for major medical bills such as surgery, ER visits, and expensive medications, which are not covered by your DPC membership. You may also qualify for subsidies that cover a large percentage of monthly premiums -- check your eligibility at CoverME.gov.


When does this happen?

Press and advertising will start in September to inform the general public. Plan rates will be available during Open Enrollment, starting November 1, 2022 on CoverME.gov. Those who sign up for Taro Health insurance will be covered starting January 1, 2023.


If you are interested you can learn more about Taro Health on their website or stay tuned for future emails from me with additional details.

https://www.tarohealth.com/invite/gersten

As always feel free to reach out with any questions,

Dr. Oren
Portland DPC

Oren Gersten, MD