Frequently Asked Questions
Here you can find answers to commonly asked questions. If you don't see an answer to your question, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Is Thread Health a concierge clinic?
We operate under a personalized primary care delivery concept called Direct Primary Care. Concierge practices typically charge a monthly or annual membership fee and your insurance. We do not charge your insurance carrier for our services, but instead get paid by you directly. This means we are working for you instead of the insurance company. This allows us to keep our hearts & our resources where we think they should be: invested in our local community.
Why would I pay for this if I never go to the Doctor?
Medical care has often become reactive–many people only seeing their doctor when they are sick. We believe health starts early & starts at home. We try to take a proactive, personalized approach to wellness–keeping you & the ones you love in the best health possible. And when things happen that we can’t handle (because they will!), we’ll be here for coordination & support.
What is included in my monthly membership?
Your membership includes sick care, Osteopathic manual therapy, & Wellness exams for all ages. We also provide Camp & Sports Physicals, travel consultations, preventative & Newborn care, along with chronic disease management. Additionally, you can get developmental screenings & some mental health evaluations with no surprise charges incurred. Procedures, like skin biopsies & lesion removals, joint injections & EKGs (to name a few) are included as well. *
Depending on your Membership Plan, we include Home Visits, hormone consults, lifestyle medicine, & our Comprehensive Weight Management program in your monthly membership fee.
(*Virtual Membership offerings include one annual wellness visit, 6 TeleHealth Consults,
& unlimited portal interactions).
What other fees can I expect?
The magic in this care model is that your monthly membership fee is designed to be as inclusive as possible. But sometimes we will send tissue or fluid samples for analysis by a pathologist, which can incur a small pre-determined fee that will be paid up front. The same is true for wholesale labs, although you will always have the option to have those services billed to your insurance**.
If you need an in-office procedure that requires a medication to complete we will pass along our inexpensive wholesale drug costs to you. This is expected to be paid at the time of service.
We’ve negotiated the lowest local prices possible for all imaging & body analysis done through outside facilities on your behalf. These charges will be discussed prior to ordering to mitigate unexpected costs.
(**Members of HMOs are ineligible for insurance-billing for laboratory, imaging, or pathology services)
Is this considered Health Insurance?
Well, the short answer is it is complicated. The longer answer (barring all the legalese) is that your membership with us does not cover you in the hospital, the operating room, or for new diagnoses like Cancer. We encourage all of our members to have, at minimum, a catastrophic coverage option.
Similar to how car insurance doesn't pay for our wipers or gas, our hope is that you end up using Health Insurance for the big stuff. Because of our predictable monthly pricing, you get the satisfaction of having someone you trust at your fingertips when the little stuff of life arises.
Why don’t you take insurance?
We appreciate insurance for big life-events. And we encourage all members to have some sort of catastrophic coverage.
But the current trend in healthcare is not going in a direction that supports how we want to deliver care. Our desire is to know our patients by their first names & better understand their personal health goals. This monthly membership model provides both consistent care & dependable access for you.
Because we work for you, not the insurance company, we get to use the latest evidence to decide together what is best. We get to be more involved in the community, too.
Click here to learn more about our membership.
Can I still see you if I don't have traditional insurance, have a HealthShare or am not insured?
Absolutely!
(Please note: Dr. Pritchard does not prescribe or manage controlled
substances or medications like narcotics or benzodiazepines).
What makes this different than insurance-based practices?
Bottom line: you get more time, more access, & more personalized healthcare delivery.
We carry about ¼ of the patient load of an insurance-based Primary Care Physician.
Space for membership is limited.
We get to spend more time together! Our visits are 30-60 minutes.
You have more access points with no extra charges–plus portal, phone, text, & TeleHealth options for communication. The hope is that this reduces the need to see an Urgent Care or ER doctor who doesn’t know you or your health history.
If your insurance coverage isn’t comprehensive or deductible is high, paying cash is often cheaper. We’ve negotiated wholesale pricing for these options & passed that savings on to you!
Price transparency is a priority for us.
If I have Medicare, can I still become a member?
Medicare patients can join our waitlist by filling out the Contact Form! At this time, we are legally not able to see or provide care for Medicare patients.
What about the specialists I need to see?
Most insurance companies will allow us to refer you to your specialists in the same way your previous Doctor might have. Some exceptions are HMOs (like Kaiser) & Medicare Advantage plans which require you to see one of their providers to get any referral approved by their net of insurance coverage. We can make suggestions to your insurance-based doctor about what to do, but we cannot complete the referral ourselves.
Some specialists have been open to up-front cash-pay pricing. We’ll always have a conversation about your preferences before we send referrals.
How do I get my medications, labs, & imaging?
You get to choose! Some patients with low-deductible plans might choose to use their insurance coverage to pay for labs, imaging, & medications. Others with much higher deductibles, health shares, or no insurance at all might find that it is cheaper to pay cash with our steeply discounted pricing.
Do you see newborns?
We love newborns around here! If you are expecting & would like to schedule a meet-and-greet, please click here. We’d love to talk about how we can come alongside you in this journey to parenthood!
Coming soon: Healthy at Home exclusive Newborn package. (Hint: Space is very limited!)
Do you require vaccinations to be a patient?
We do not require vaccinations to be seen in our clinic. While we always encourage it (vaccines are amazing!), we are willing to work with individuals or families who might have hesitations or questions about a traditional vaccination schedule.
We do follow the CDC recommended vaccination schedule but recognize the need for further conversation at times.
What if I need to end my membership?
We get it–life happens. We request a formal termination request in writing (email or letter). More details about ending enrollment can be found in the Patient Agreement. Re-enrollment in the practice will be subject to availability at the time of the request.
How can Thread Health help Small Businesses?
Thread Health is in a unique position to help alleviate some of the healthcare provision for certain small businesses. We want to continue to support the growth of Spokane!
Click here to learn more about what we offer employers.