By Christopher Habig

When I ask people of all walks of life what they cherish above all else or wish they had back, there are a few common answers. Family is the most popular. We will do almost anything for our families, even if we can’t stand them. We miss those who have gone too soon. We regret not calling our parents more. We look forward to seeing our children after work.

A few years ago, I asked my mother, an internal medicine physician, a question. Her response startled me and inspired me to explore an unknown path. The question I asked her was, “What should I do if I need to go to the hospital?” Her response, “I’d recommend not getting sick.” This inquiry came from seeing my elderly grandmother hospitalized for taking an accidental extra dosage of blood thinner. The hospitalist’s treatment plan, an iron supplement, would’ve killed my grandmother. Thankfully, my mother stepped in to challenge him, advocating for a much more effective treatment plan. I wondered what happens if a person is ill and doesn’t have a physician advocating for them. Luckily, everyone, everywhere now has the chance to have a trusted physician.

There is a movement underway. It is certainly under the radar but gaining speed. It is called direct care, and this is where our state has the ability to make a deep, lasting, and positive impact on real healthcare reform.

Direct care is a common term used to describe a medical practice that does not contract with insurance companies nor government payer programs. This is where innovation is happening. Cost savings abound by cutting out the waste of 3rd party insurance. Relationships blossom as patients can easily call, text, email, or video chat their doctor at any time. Barriers crumble when a patient pays a low monthly fee (around $80/month) directly to their physician in order to have the convenience of getting questions answered the same day. This program is affordable, provides excellent care, and gives patients unprecedented access to their doctor.

The best part about Direct Primary Care is its simplicity. It isn't a network, its a community. It is the type of community that strives for something better and is evolving into a movement.

This movement is a grassroots revolution led by physicians. Now we need businesses of all sizes to get on board. Bucking the trend of established workplace benefits that increase year after year doesn't make any sense. Insurance brokers aren't incentivized to lower your costs and find the best plans. The workplace benefits industry is ripe for disruption and by offering employees a personal physician, businesses can actually lower costs while providing a real, valued perk for working hard.

We need government bureaucrats and big hospital systems to get out of the way. For too long, non-competitive practices have limited our doctors from caring for their patients. Non-compete clauses border on insane. We’ve seen hospitals threaten to sue a doctor for trying to earn an income because they had a 2 year, 25 mile non-compete clause that prohibited them from being a physician. Patients are the big losers when bureaucrats and big hospitals try to control the free market.

We need the Hoosier business community to support a novel idea. We need our government and state leadership to look at the impact of a person losing their long-time, trusted physician, just because that doctor wanted to go into a private practice. We need our physicians to realize there is a better, less frustrating way to care for people. We need Indiana to step up and show that we cherish continuity of care and that we embrace the doctor-patient relationship as the best way to ensure we get the best care possible. The triple aim of excellence, affordability, and access are possible. Let’s help our state be the torch bearers in this movement and show the rest of the country that Hoosier innovation knows no bounds.

Christopher has been active across a wide range of functions and industries during his career. Indiana has always been home before and after graduating from Butler University and later, Indiana University's Kelley School of Business MBA program, Chris has turned his focus to his real passion - improving the healthcare industry in the United States. At Freedom Healthworks, Chris ensures progress in key performance areas while adhering to the company’s core values. He works to expand Freedom’s presence in the healthcare industry and increase mainstream awareness of direct care.