I haven’t, but I’ve heard the argument that health insurance SHOULD be for emergencies and that you should have a direct fiduciary relationship with your doctor.
For me the question would be, what would I be giving up to free up this $$? Just making sure the tradeoff felt worthwhile. And also, if the primary care doc issues referrals or prescribes tests or whatnot, will your insurance accept them?
That tends to be a bit of the gotcha with these groups. The consult is included, but all the testing and scans and so on will still need to be run through the normal insurance which might not play well with whatever systems they use.
My locality accepts #5 plastic. Has anyone done a deep dive into whether it is worth recycling? My concerns are:
-The water used to clean it for recycling - we live in Denver where it’s dry and our river seems to be running out or something?
-Microplastics, although I do recycle other plastics
The advantage to me is that the more plastic I recycle, the smaller my trash can can be, and I pay by the size of my can. The difference is not significant. I guess I just like the optics of the tiny can and I either need to recycle more plastic or get a bigger one. Seeking perspectives/facts/opinions/whatever!
I put whatever my city says I can in the recycling bin in the condition they ask for and consider that what happens after that to be none of my business. There are other areas I’m more involved, but a system as large and complex as plastic recycling is not something I’m interested in grapling with right now. You could possibly try to message someone in the recycling program and ask where it goes, how much it costs the city, how much is recycled, etc. But I think different places have different contracts or other relationships with the people who do the actual recycling, so I don’t think it’s the same everywhere.
Consider:
-will your insurance reimburse any of this membership cost?
I didn’t have a PCP for decades. Very few illnesses, nothing chronic, so I just used Urgent care, or a clinic (but never declared a PCP)
I had a doctor like this for my mom when I was coordinating her care. It took such a load off of me I’d do it again in heartbeat if I was back in that situation.
I think it’s a good idea for you.
One aspect is continuity of care as you mention.
When I’ve needed to see my doctor after the initial preventative care visit (or if that preventative visit turns diagnostic) there’s usually pretty significant co-pay, like $200 per visit until I meet my deductible which I usually don’t. $80 a month for unlimited visits starts to look cheap
Also the concierge doctors usually plan on spending more time with you, but maybe ask to be sure. That can be very helpful if you want a doctor to really work with you on getting to root of stuff instead of just giving you a band-aid prescription that may mask symptoms but not really resolve anything.
If you need labs or referrals and your insurance requires those, it may be harder to get. I’ve used AnyLabTestNow and love them but it can cost more than going through insurance.
This doesn’t necessarily seem bonkers for a medically complex person, although it seems kind of pricey for you specifically. I would just be very very clear on the cancellation policies just in case the very forward thinking thing doesn’t turn out to be true.
I don’t have direct primary care, but I do pay my psychiatrist directly because she does not accept insurance. I’ve had no issues getting testing or medications covered by my insurance, even though my office visits with her are not covered. So I wouldn’t be super concerned about that part of it. I do have several friends who have a DPC subscription and are really happy with the more personalized care and just being able to get in with their doctor without the super long wait times.
I have no feedback on this other than to say access to a doctor, the same doctor who knows you, on a quick timeframe sounds like a dream. Curious how it pans out for you.
I put stuff in the recycling, but I doubt that much plastic is actually recycled.
#5 is plastic bags? That seems unlikely to be recycled, but I don’t really have many. The newspaper bags get used for cat poop.
#5 is sour cream and yogurt cartons, etc.
Yeah, I don’t think much of that is actually recycled. I also don’t know any great way to avoid it. Rocky Mountain yogurt used to come in glass but no more.
I’m shopping for 2026 health insurance.
Does anyone know the difference between Copay with deductible and Copay after deductible?
Could the difference be that the former means you pay a copay and it doesn’t apply to your deductible but also that’s what you pay whether or not you have met the deductible, and the latter means that you would pay the full cost until you meet the deductible and then after that you pay the copay shown?
I don’t want to give them my email address. Anyone with subscription want to tell me if this is as bad as the headline sounds?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/20/coast-guard-swastika-noose/
You can read it from an archive site like: https://archive.is/20251120215649/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/20/coast-guard-swastika-noose/
Oh thanks!!
I found an agent who helped me understand the difference and you’re close!
The Copay with deductible is for those cases where you get say 3 visits with a $50 copay before meeting your deductible. You pay the full amount for all visits after that until you meet your deductible. Once you’ve met the deductible it switches to Coinsurance until the out of pocket max is met.
The Copay after deductible is the copay after deductible.
Preserving it for beauty anything at room temperature sounds like it would require some heavy-duty chemical preservative, but if you make it in a batch that can be kept refrigerated it should keep well due to low water content. Even if you have a lot of it, I would keep the majority part for cooking fat, as it cuts any other fats (along with their environmental footprint) you need to acquire while still being the “highest” use of the animal. It should freeze well. I’ve not used it for soap but it is traditional. Whatever else someone tells you, it will make stinky, spattery candles. The local birds may appreciate the extra calories of a little seed cake made with it as long as the local temps stay below freezing so it doesn’t rancidify, but it’s nutritionally less rich than suet, being refined. There’s also sharing or swapping with neighbors for something you do want!
