Iowans are sick of “sick care.” As much as you may hate the system however, Dr. Jon Van Der Veer, founder and CEO of Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care, says it’s working exactly as designed. The present healthcare system profits from your illness, but he believes the direct primary care model can disrupt it and prioritize health.
What is direct primary care?
Van Der Veer explains the current “heads in beds” model is a product of a medical-industrial complex where revenue is generated by the severity and frequency of illness. He argues the system prioritizes high-cost hospitalizations and surgeries over the foundational relationship between a doctor and a patient, designed to prevent serious illness. To counter this, Van Der Veer has developed a no-limit, primary care membership subscription designed to align the incentives of the the healthcare provider with the health of the consumer.
In other words, the healthier you are, the more sustainable their business model becomes.
“In a direct primary care or a subscription membership based model, the goal is that you are getting what you’re paying for, which is time with the physician or the provider you’re with,” Van Der Veer stated. He explains his clinicians are incentivized to keep patients healthy and out of the clinic rather than waiting for injury or illness to occur.
It sounds obvious, but Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care’s primary care membership model is opposite what most Iowans currently experience.
The Return of Direct Primary Care
A significant portion of the discussion centered on the “functionally uninsured” status of many Americans who, despite having insurance, face massive deductibles. This discourage them from seeking care. Van Der Veer’s model offers memberships—such as the $89 a month “full tilt” direct primary care price. Access price for urgent care is $49.
This model eliminate’s the fear of surprise $500 bills after a routine visit, bills from multiple entities, and hard-to-understand pricing confusion. By removing the insurance middleman for routine needs, the model restores the physician-patient bond.
Van Der Veer noted the administrative bloat in the traditional system, stating, “There’s a chart that shows the amount of administrators in healthcare over the last 25, 30 years is astronomically higher than the people who are actually providing care and the cost matches their curve.”
Primary care membership for Iowa employers
Beyond individual primary care memberships, the model is gaining traction among employers as a talent retention tool as well.
With fifty five groups across five states already signed on, Van Der Veer sees the subscription model as a “fixed defined contribution” that allows employees to engage with healthcare without financial fear. This proactive approach reduces absenteeism and ensures a more focused, productive workforce. Healthy, happy, employees are better workers!
With rising healthcare and insurance costs, and increasing uncertainty, employers are opting to provide this as a benefit and retention tool for key employees.
“We may see some of those people more frequently if they are sicker, but we’re doing a better job of keeping them out of the high end care model,” Van Der Veer explained, reinforcing that the ultimate goal is to return insurance to its original purpose: a safety net for catastrophic events, not a barrier to everyday wellness.
Thank you to Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care for collaborating on this exclusive episode! Our community partners compensate our hosts directly for their time creating unique, high-value for our wide Iowa audience.