SageMED Select Plan

Dr. Sage Wheeler, Dr. David Deichert, Dr. Eva Miller, Dr Kiran Bhandari, & Marrie Ketchum are currently the only providers participating. There will always be a providers available at SageMED for those who do not wish to participate. Due to the popularity of the plan, it is not feasible to schedule with a participating provider if you are not enrolled, though exceptions are always made for urgent care. The plan exists to enhance care, we will ensure it never hinders essential care.

There are two fee options for the Select Plan:

Monthly: The monthly Select Plan fee is billed at $39.00.

Annual: We offer a 10% discount for Select Plan fees paid annually, bringing the total to $421.20 per year.

This fee enables our doctors to limit their practice to a much smaller panel of patients than typical primary care providers, as well as reserve extra time each day for urgent care and last minute requests. The fee allows the doctor to leave empty space on the schedule that we otherwise would have to fill.

Additionally, health insurance plans have many detailed and complex criteria for what is and is not a covered service. Many of the services patients have come to appreciate and expect are not covered by some insurance plans, including:

• Access to your provider through our SageMED App. Most payers cover messaging, but do not cover the cost of building a convenient app for easy access.

• Wellness discussions not related to a “medically necessary” condition, such as longevity or performance optimization. We love to discuss this, but insurance does not cover it. These discussions and recommendations are now included as part of your plan.

• Coordinating insurance and pharmacy authorizations and advocating for claim reimbursements. Currently doctors do not get paid for this if it occurs outside of a 24-hour window of your visit. These services will be offered as part of the plan. The select plan pays for a full-time employee to do your prior authorizations and denial appeals for you. 

• This fee ensures continued access to our telemedicine technology.

Instead of charging separate fees for these non-covered services, it is all included in one simple fee.

The $39 monthly retainer makes it possible for us to continue to provide exceptional primary care services with improved wait times, online patient portal access, a dedicated Select Plan Patient care coordinator, the SageMED app, 5% off Fullscripts Supplements, 5% off at WiseMEDS.com, 20% discount on Nutrifol, and extended visit times to cover topics your payers may not consider medically necessary. Doctors will also be limiting new patient flow, so as to not increase wait times for existing patients. We do not want a single person to feel left behind, so if you would like to participate, but are unable to do so, please reach out to your doctor. 

SageMED is a collaboration of independent physician practices, we simply provide administrative support for their practices. The providers listed above have a very high patient volume which creates excessive demands and time management burdens on the providers and staff. The monthly fee will allow the collaborative model of SageMED, providers and administrators alike, to continue to be as responsive as possible in meeting the high standards of patient care we have established for ourselves.

There will be a limited number of spots available for each physician that is requiring a membership. The exact number is to be determined based on provider preference and administrative factors. When the physician feels care is starting to drag they will stop taking new patients. Anyone who is not a plan participant at this time will no longer be able to see that provider and we will direct you to one of our other care team members.

Just let us know which doctor you consider to be your primary physician. You will not have to enroll with both.

Of course! You only need to be a Select Plan participant at the time of your visit. However, keep in mind that these doctors are limiting their patient panels, so there may not be a spot available if you choose to cancel and want to rejoin at a later time.

Absolutely, we have many fantastic doctors at SageMED that are not participating in SageMED Select at this time. Only the doctors with exceptionally high patient loads and demand are participating in the Select Plan.

Yes, you can save 10% by purchasing an annual plan lowering the cost to $421.20. A great choice for SageMED regulars.

Monthly subscriptions are $39 (this option is best for most people).

We have done our best to make this fee affordable, yet effective for its purpose. We do have a very limited amount of need-based scholarships available. Please reach out to your doctor directly to be requested for consideration. We will ensure you can always get care at SageMED, but it may not always be with that provider.

To put it plainly, the American Healthcare system is not designed with patient care in mind. We rank 39th in the world for quality of healthcare, yet we spend far more than any other country. Our third party payer system is deeply broken. Most doctors are forced to work for large corporations that put profits and shareholders first, or are heavily burdened with bureaucracy and red tape. Most insurers/shareholders do not value preventive, comprehensive, whole person care, and primary care and pediatrics in particular has been long neglected. There are great people working in the insurance industry, but the system is not conducive to the outcome we all want.

As such, there is a shortage of primary care doctors, and a severe shortage of good ones.

As such, primary care providers are left with two choices: increase the amount of patients we see per day and allow double booking (which is why some offices have extreme wait times and short visits) or charge a small monthly retainer to cover the constant stream of non-covered services and to be able to continue to provide the quality of care you have come to expect. Read more about the healthcare worker crisis here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04/22/health-workers-covid-quit/