Frequently Asked Questions

Code 1 Concierge Care (age 5-64): one simple monthly fee covers each and every visit.  

Traditional doctor's office (all ages): charges for each and every visit, including: 

• Co-Pay: $10-$100 due at each appointment.

• Unmet deductible costs: Up to several thousand per year.

• Limited access If uninsured.

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Submitting bills to Insurance or Medicare is an extremely complex, lengthy process that requires:

• Paid staff (increased expenses)

• Delays in payments

• Payment denials through no fault of the doctor's office (which you're then responsible for).

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In order to pay the bills, doctors must schedule up to 20 appointments in a single 8 hour day. No wonder everything is so rushed!

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Long-Term Consequences of Health Insurance-Dependent Care

• Q: What happens if your company changes insurance companies? 

• Q: What happens if you change or lose your job?

• Q: What happens if you decide to start your own business?

• Q: What are the long-term financial consequences of paying for a “service” that often doesn’t deliver when it’s most needed? 

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• A: Most of the time, you have to start ALL OVER with another doctor.

  • Just like that, all of the trust, understanding, and comfort you had with your physician is gone.

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With Code 1 Concierge Care, none of that has to happen. For one reasonable monthly fee, you have a relationship with a highly skilled physician and team. A team that truly is in your corner. Someone that you know and trust, and who will be there when needed. 

How does concierge medicine work?

It's a monthly (or quarterly or annual) MEMBERSHIP based service. Depending on your age and needs, you pay one monthly fee which covers:

• Unparalleled treatment

• Cell phone access to your doctor

• All doctor's visits

• All telemedicine visits

• Minor urgent care needs

• All referrals

• If sent to the ER or admitted, Dr. Cashio will closely coordinate with the ER or hospital staff. 

• Significant savings on

  • Labs​

  • X-rays, CT & MRI scans ((if not using insurance)

  • Procedures such as IVs, joint injections, lesion removals, biopsies, fracture management, and so on. 

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ONLY FOR REGULAR MEDICARE PATIENTS*

Accepting commercial insurance means increased costs (staff, equipment, software, and time) and decreased time for your needs. 

Moreover, it causes you more pain:

• Surprise billing for non-covered costs

• Hundreds to thousands in out-of-pocket expenses

• Delays in care.

Our experience shows that you are happier and you get better care if we avoid the insurance company altogether. 

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(*) Note that we are not contracted with Medicare Advantage Plans. Patients with this insurance plan will be subject to the regular monthly membership fee.

NONE

Since we don't bill insurance, you don't have to worry about follow up billing from your insurance company. We also do not collect co-pays from Medicare patients (though Medicare may decide that you owe that amount). 

NO

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Serious accidents and medical situations happen. In those cases, you will still need insurance in order to cover:

• ER Visits

• Hospitalizations

• Many specialist visits

• Outpatient procedures (colonoscopies, sleep studies, etc). 

• Medications 

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Nowadays, there are options other than traditional insurance.  Our friends at Ochna Health (in Georgetown, TX) were kind enough to put together this helpful guide to what are called “Health Sharing” plans. These are non-insurance based groups that agree to cover medical costs (subject to clear rules). My own family is covered by one of these plans, and depending upon your family’s situation, these can be a great choice for catastrophic care.

Note: Code 1 Concierge Care is not affiliated with these organizations.  

NOT REALLY

Consider this true story: 

A couple joins my practice.

Two years later on, they are traveling in Florida. Sunday morning, the wife (let us call her “Mary”) injures her hand the day that she is to fly back to Austin.

Concerned that she might have broken her hand, Mary and her husband called & texted, asking whether she needed to go to the ER. After some pictures and a brief phone call, they hopped on the plane home.

Immediately after touching down Sunday afternoon, Mary and her husband went straight from the airport to see me in the clinic. I was able to get her pain under control, splint the hand, and arrange for X-rays the next day, which showed a fracture. 

Texting my colleague, I was able to get Mary into the hand surgeon within 24 hours.  

Simply by being members of Code 1 Concierge care, Mary and her husband were able to completely avoid:

• Waiting rooms & prolonged wait times.

• Urgent Care or ER facility fees

• UC or ER physician fees

• X-ray costs billed under emergent rules (very expensive), instead of the relatively lower cost outpatient studies.

• Insurance co-pay and deductible claims for my portion of her care. 

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I strongly suspect that the money saved by this incident alone more than paid for their membership for the entire year. 

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