We've made it easy for you to write to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Below is a sample email with important points related to how the health reform law could be implemented to ensure direct primary care medical homes are supported.  

Simply copy and paste the letter into an email, and personalize the letter with your information and perspective.

Email your letter to the Secretary at: Kathleen.Sebelius@hhs.gov

SUBJECT: Please Support Direct Primary Care Medical Homes

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave., SW
Washington D.C.  20201 

Dear Secretary Sebelius,

I am a direct primary care doctor with [NAME OF PRACTICE] in [CITY/STATE]. I am writing to stress the importance of the regulations implementing Section 1301(a)(3) of the Affordable Care Act, which addresses direct primary care medical homes (DPCMH). The provision, while brief in length, could have an enormous impact on the twin goals of health care reform - improving the quality of care while reducing its cost. Consequently, it is imperative that the Department draft regulations implementing the section in a manner that protects the integrity of direct primary care medical homes (DPCMH) and puts the interests of patients first.  

There are three keys to the success of DPCMH practices: 

• First, we cannot be required to be an insurance company. Direct primary care provides a service for routine primary and preventive care that everyone needs, and is inherently inexpensive. There is really no reason to pay for primary care via insurance. Direct primary care medical homes can address up to 90% of a patient's healthcare needs, reducing each individual's dependence on the more expensive parts of the health care system. Insurance, on the other hand, works best when it's used for the more expensive parts of the health care system such as specialist, hospital, emergency rooms and other services that are unexpected, unusual, unanticipated and expensive.

• Second, DPCMH practices work best when the patient pays us directly rather than via a third-party insurance reimbursement system. Practices like mine are improving the quality of care patients receive while reducing cost because we have eliminated the expense associated with insurance billing and fee-for-service reimbursement, which today can consume more than 40% of every primary care dollar. We are able to invest all of that time and energy in the care of our patients. Unfortunately, if payments are made through an insurance company, there is simply no way to prevent the steady, relentless increase in administrative costs that can be found in every other fee-for-service based payment model. If, regrettably, the Department sees no way to structure the payment process other than through the insurance company, then it is imperative that the payment methodology be nothing more than a simple and straightforward pass-through.

• Third, the section must protect the consumer's right to choose. It is imperative to patient choice and the integrity of the direct primary care model that people be allowed to pay their direct primary care provider directly.  Direct primary care medical homes work because patients can leave the practice if they are unhappy with the service. Direct primary care practices also work because there is no insurance overhead, coding, billing, or paperwork to deal with in order to be paid.  Doctors can do what they do best, and patients can vote with their money.Thank you for considering my letter and helping protect my right to choose my preferred healthcare option. 

The direct primary care model is catching on, and continues to grow across the country at a good pace, because it works. With direct primary care, physicians like me are enjoying the practice of primary care again, patients are receiving a higher quality of care at a lower cost, and downstream healthcare costs are being significantly reduced. I urge you to consider the factors outlined above as new regulations are drafted, and to protect this already-successful model for primary care.

Sincerely,

[NAME]
[TITLE]