A direct care or direct pay (cash pay) practice is the new alternative healthcare model to run a medical practice. We do not participate with any insurance or government healthcare program, meaning we are third-party free. 

Patients will know upfront what their care will cost and will pay a reasonable fee, in full, for their care at the time of their visit. We do not work for insurance companies or the government. We work for our patients. You will not get any surprise statements or bills months after your appointment.

Excessive rules and high fees have resulted in skyrocketing healthcare costs. Patients pay expensive insurance premiums yet still cannot afford care due to high deductibles and co-pays. To make matters worse, patients have no idea what their out-of-pocket costs are until they receive a surprise bill months later.

We take a simpler approach. By eliminating third parties from our practice, we reduce administrative costs and pass these savings on to you. Patients know upfront what they will pay for their care. We call this price transparency. There are no surprise bills or statements that show up after the visit.

Patients with high deductibles or no insurance will likely find that our fees are significantly lower than what they are currently paying out-of-pocket.

In a direct pay practice, neither the insurance companies nor the government has access to your private medical records.

We do not participate in any government healthcare program. If you have Medicare, the government requires that you sign a one-page private contract before we can see you, indicating that you understand that medical services will not be covered through Medicare. Medicare will still cover any medications or lab testing ordered by Dr. Bhela.

Yes. Insurance works best for covering catastrophes and big-ticket medical expenses. You want insurance to cover major medical issues in case you are hospitalized, in an accident, or if you develop a major medical illness that requires a lot of advanced testing or specialist care. For these reasons, we recommend you still have some basic insurance coverage.

No. We are a direct pay practice, which means that we do not take any insurance. Payment for all services is required at check-out immediately after you are seen in our office.

Our transparent fees are available online. Please review our direct pay pricing and payment policy.

By eliminating insurance from our practice, we are able to reduce our costs and keep our fees reasonable and transparent. There are no surprise bills after the fact. Click to view our direct pay pricing.

If you have a condition that requires blood work or other studies, there is a separate pathology fee billed by the affiliated lab we partner with. You may choose then whether to pay for those services yourself or to get it billed through your insurance.

Under New York State law, A provider may charge a Medicaid enrollee for services only when both parties have agreed prior to the rendering of the service that the enrollee is being seen as a private pay patient; this must be a mutual and voluntary decision. It is suggested that the provider maintain the patient’s signed consent to be treated as private pay in the patient’s medical record.