Meriden practice won't take insurance

Family nurse practitioner Rachel Wilson has worked in varied health care positions, from hospice to labor and delivery.

On Monday, she will open WHOLEhealth in Meriden, a private practice that offers direct primary care services, sometimes referred to as concierge care. The health care model, which doesn't take insurance, will help her return to the roots of what she loves about her work, Wilson said.

"It feels good to be in primary care and be with people again," she said. "Sometimes that’s messy, and that’s just what we do. The big thing about this is to take care of people again, kind of like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. I’ll go to your home. I feel like there’s been a greater calling for me in this."

DPC is a practice mode that operates outside traditional insurance. Patients pay a monthly fee and are able to see Wilson as often as they need, although home visits are limited to two a year, Wilson said.

Patients age 18 and under pay $29 a month, while people ages 19 to 99 pay $69 per month. Anyone 100 years or older may avail themselves of Wilson's services for free. WHOLEhealth also offers family plans and small business plans.

"With the monthly fee, they have unlimited access to me directly via cell phone, text message, email, Skype, if they want to have a teleconference, we can do that too," Wilson said. "We can do about 92 percent of everything that needs to be done in primary care — asthma, chronic disease management. The DOT (Department of Transportation) physical, I can do that. It covers the vast majority of things you need."

Deep discounts are available to members for generic medications, labs and imaging, Wilson said.

The number of DPC practices nationwide is growing. A 2017 study from Hint Health showed that in 2014, there were about 125 DPC practices in the country, each with an average of 48 patients. By 2017, that number had grown to 620 practices with about 279 patients per practice. 

Oasis Health Care in Topeka and Holton Direct Care in Holton both are set up the same way as WHOLEhealth.

For Wilson, taking the insurance element out of medical treatment offers the opportunity to build relationships and be the kind of practitioner she wants to be.

The growth of her practice will be slow as she works to educate people about what DPC is and how she will provide care, Wilson said.

"That seems to be the common report from everyone," she said. "It is a lot of education. I’m getting such positive feedback from our community and everybody I share this with."

Although her doors aren't officially open until Monday, Wilson said, Meriden is a small town and people already have been reaching out to her for care.

Anyone interested in learning more about Wilson's practice can attend a grand opening celebration at her Meriden office, 100 E. Main St., from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Along with homemade pie and treats, Wilson will offer tours of her new clinic and educate the community on how DPC practices work.