MEMBERSHIP

Barreto Family Medicine uses a Direct Primary Care (DPC) model. Being a member of a DPC practice is similar to having a gym membership as you pay a monthly membership fee for services provided.

This monthly membership fee gives you access to Dr. Mark Barreto, who is then choosing to not bill for your doctor visits. As access to a doctor is not a service for which insurance pays, you cannot submit your membership fees to insurance for reimbursement. This fee does NOT go toward your deductible either.  Thus, the membership fee is going to be an out-of-pocket expense.

We get paid directly from you, NOT your insurance company. But this means that we work for YOU - not your insurance company!

See FAQs page for more clarification, or contact us with any questions.

New patients: Call 607-988-0105 for more information

Note: The fee schedule below is the cash price. There is an additional 2.1% + 30 cents per transaction charge for credit/debit card payments and 25 cents for bank transfer payments.

MEMBERSHIP FEE:
Under 18 years old: $50/month

18 years old and up: $100/month

There is a 3 month minimum obligation when you sign up for membership.

Veterans receive a 5% discount.

Ask about family discounts for children of parent/guardian members.

The monthly membership fee provides you the following services:

  • 24/7 access to Dr. Barreto via phone, text, and email

  • Unlimited visits

  • Extended visits of 30-60 minutes or longer, dependent on need

  • Same or next business day acute appointments

  • Telemedicine

  • CDL/DOT physicals

  • Home visits*

*Home Visits: Members of Barreto Family Medicine may request a Home visit. If determined by the physician that the home visit is reasonably necessary and appropriate, BFM will make every reasonable effort to comply with the request. There may be an additional fee if Dr Barreto must travel a significant distance from the office or if the overall time away from the office is considerable. The home visit fee, if charged, can be up to $250.

How to Pay Your Monthly Membership Fees:

  • Autopay (preferred)
    You can sign up for autopay, thus avoiding the potential for any late fees.  You can set up payment with your debit card, credit card, and/or automated checking withdrawal.  

  • Check or Cash. You can also pay by check or cash.  

When is your payment due?
Your first month’s payment is due at your first visit, then you will be billed monthly thereafter. Monthly payment is due by the last day of the month, ie. August’s payment is due by August 31st.

***ADMINISTRATIVE FEE***: Up to $200.00 per month, depending on administrative workload

***The administrative fee is an additional variable monthly fee that Barreto Family Medicine may charge a patient if there is excessive administrative time spent on the patient’s care during a particular month. It is usually applied only when Dr Barreto has to spend a lot of time and effort dealing with administratively intensive health care facilities, such as assisted living facilities, nursing homes, insurance companies, hospital networks, pharmaceutical companies, and other organizations, such as hospice.

The administrative fee, if charged, may be up to $200 per month, depending on the administrative workload for that month. Any administrative fee payment specifics, including cost and due date will be discussed and worked out with the patient directly.

Why an Administrative Fee? (Dr Barreto on his Soap-Box)

When I opened my Direct Primary Care practice, my goal was to provide the best possible primary care to my patients at an affordable rate. I was not looking to become rich. I wanted to make a modest living while taking care of my patients the way I felt they deserved in the best manner I could provide. I wanted to be the small town-country doctor of the olden days, working directly with my patients without the interference of insurance companies and all the other administratively burdensome hindrances of the broken health care system of today.

Sadly, during my first year of private practice, I learned that, as much as I desired to, I could not completely escape our broken health care system. My patients still rely on that system for parts of their health care, obtaining diagnostics studies, paying for medications, and utilizing administratively intensive health care facilities.

Assisted living facilities, nursing homes, insurance companies, hospital networks, pharmaceutical companies, durable medical equipment and supply companies, certain government agencies, and other organizations, such as hospice, are all part of our broken healthcare system. They make thousands of dollars per month per patient. Engaging with administratively intensive health care facilities often requires many hours of work each month to get my patients the care they need. Sadly, too often these extra administrative tasks have nothing to do with actual medicine or treating the patient.

Some of these organizations, like insurance companies, purposely deny coverage for medications and diagnostic studies ordered for patients by their doctors. Essentially these insurance companies are practicing medicine without a license by deciding what is or what is not medically appropriate for a patient. Then, the insurance company forces the administrative burden onto the doctors and their staff by having them spend many hours a month trying to get prior authorizations approved so the insurance company will pay for what the doctors already decided was in the best interest of their patient. Meanwhile, the patient is in a holding pattern for days or weeks awaiting approval from their insurance company to get a medication or diagnostic test, and treatment is delayed.

These administratively intensive health care organizations make millions, if not billions, of dollars a year. Yet they are more than happy to have private doctors do their administrative work at no cost to these wealthy organizations. It is like they have a doctor on staff but do not have to pay anything for my time.

I would love to charge these administratively intensive health care organizations for the costs of their administrative tasks they place on doctors. But they will not pay and I still have to make a living. In order for me to have a financially viable practice and continue to provide the best care I can for my patients in this Direct Primary Care model, somehow I have to be compensated for my time and energy dealing with these administrative tasks.

Thus, I may charge an administrative fee if I have to spend a significant amount of time and effort dealing with administratively intensive health care organizations, or if for some other reason, excessive administrative time is spent on the patient’s care during a particular month.

LATE FEE:

If your monthly membership fee payment is not received on time, then a $20 late fee will be applied for each person on the account for each month in arrears.  

MEMBERSHIP NOT RIGHT FOR YOU? There is another option!
​Some people really only need to have contact (i.e. visits, prescriptions, etc.) with the doctor once or twice a year. 

If you believe you are in this category of patients, there is an option of paying $250 per visit for non-members of Barreto Family Medicine.

Any communications with Dr. Barreto after this visit, however, will be limited to issues regarding that specific visit. Also understand that if you need anything further such as a medication refill, forms filled out, etc., then you would be required to come in for a visit (and therefore another charge).

If you have Medicaid, this option is not available to you per New York State law.

If you have Medicare, you cannot submit this visit fee for reimbursement. This is part of the Medicare Opt Out agreement.

For commercial insurance, if you have out of network benefits, then check with your plan if this can be submitted for reimbursement. See FAQs for the best language to help you talk to your insurance.

​For a CDL/DOT physical: $150 for non-members of Barreto Family Medicine. Note: CDL/DOT physicals are an included service for members of Barreto Family Medicine.

Call or email if you'd like to schedule one of these types of appointments.
Members will have first priority when it comes to appointment availability.