Town Hall Summary: Upcoming Changes at CIH
Andrew Wong, MD, IFMCP - CEO & Medical Director, CIH
Ana Gomez, MHA - Practice Administrator, CIH
Araceli Benavides, RD, IFMCP - Director of Functional Nutrition, CIH
Nichelle Nation - Administrative and Community Care Coordinator, CIH
Shannon Fleming - Office Manager, CIH-Potomac
Context for Upcoming Changes at CIH
We are shifting our model, given the challenges with insurance reimbursement, to remain sustainable and to continue partnering with you in your healthcare journey
We care about you and want to co-create the future of your health and wellness care with us. We’re all in this together!
With all of our practice changes, what is NOT changing is:
Our commitment to finding root causes and addressing and treating complex, chronic illnesses;
Our commitment to optimizing the body’s terrain so that healing happens from the inside out;
Our commitment to understanding you as a whole person, mind, body, and spirit;
Our commitment to education and empowerment so that you learn to take care of yourself and your family;
Our commitment to personalized, proactive, and preventative care so that you can maximize both your lifespan and your healthspan;
Our commitment to advocating for integrative health and a healthier population because everyone deserves to live a healthy and vibrant life and life to their fullest potential
Location Update + Improvements
CIH is uniting into one location, in Potomac, at 11325 Seven Locks Road, Suite 290, Potomac, MD 20854, effective Monday, November 1st, 2024. Bethesda providers and staff will be moving to Potomac. Our site is on the border between Potomac and Rockville, Maryland and is conveniently accessible via car or public transportation (bus).
We have physically expanded our Potomac location and added more space over the past year, in preparation to offer more services here in the future for you. We are currently working on the following, coming soon: CIH Wellness Center (fitness, movement, and mind-body space), and offering additional therapeutic options in our CIH IV Nutritional Program.
In the upcoming year, within our location, we will be also building out the CIH Pharmacy within our clinic to offer compounded medications directly to you, as well as a non-profit, Uplevel Health Collective, that will focus on integrative health research and integrative care for the underserved.
With this move to Potomac, we are concentrating on better care coordination, more team meetings and training, and uniting the team to better serve you. We will still be offering telehealth for your convenience as well!
Insurance Updates
We have always been committed to access to integrative care and have taken insurance for the first 10 years of this practice.
However, given ongoing challenges with insurance reimbursement, we must shift our model to remain sustainable and to continue partnering with you in your healthcare journey.
To continue to deliver high-quality functional medicine, functional nutrition, IV nutrition, and wellness services and provide you with the care that you deserve, we are transitioning to an out-of-network model that offers price transparency, the ability to pay-as-you-go (using an optional CareCredit model), the ability for you to submit for potential out-of-network benefits (using Reimbursify) as well as savings and discounts on services with packages or memberships. Moving forward, our Administrative and Community Care Coordinator, Nichelle will work closely with Dr. Wong and our clinical team, and can discuss the suggested care options with you.
A summary of updated prices for services can be found here: https://cihealth.org/services1.
Dr. Wong and the team at CIH are working on reaching out to each patient individually to discuss and co-create your future healthcare plan.
Frequently Asked Questions/Q&A:
What is happening with my health care insurance coverage at CIH?
Aetna, CareFirst, Cigna: out-of-network for all providers and services, including medicine and nutrition visits
Medicare:
Currently, in-network for medical visits with Dr. Wong, EJ Schaefer PA-C, Jenessa Mayer PA-C, and Katie Ritchie PA-C (until April 1, 2025)
Out-of-network for all other providers and services, including nutrition, effective immediately; after April 1, 2025, out-of-network for all providers and services
United:
Currently, in-network for medical visits with Dr. Wong, EJ Schaefer PA-C, Jenessa Mayer PA-C, and Katie Ritchie PA-C (until May 1, 2025)
Out-of-network for all other providers and services, including nutrition, effective immediately; after May 1, 2025, out-of-network for all providers and services
How can I make my integrative healthcare more affordable?
Effective 11/1/2024, a membership fee will no longer be required to be a patient in the practice.
We will continue to have the Gold Membership as a recommended way that our team has designed to optimize your wellness (details below)
We will continue to have the Standard Membership if you joined the practice before a certain date (details below)
Health investment
Working with CIH is a proactive investment in your health, and we are looking forward to continuing to serve you and providing you value in your health and wellness journey.
Outlining your care plan
We will work with you to coordinate your future care plan and discuss your options.
For instance, we will offer packages and memberships that you can opt into which bundle integrative care services and this will offer you a convenient and affordable care plan to continue working with us.
Flexible healthcare
You are still a patient of the practice even if you go elsewhere for primary care and elect to utilize us for integrative and functional consultations.
You are still a patient of the practice even if you are not a “member” of the practice.
You are still a patient of the practice, even if you see nutrition only or wellness services only.
Care Credit Program
This is a program offering a health and wellness credit card with flexible financing options so you can pay over time for care you want or need
Reimbursify - check out-of-network benefits.
Reimbursify has an app where you can check out-of-network benefits, submit claims, track their status, and reduce denials – delivering you higher reimbursements, faster.
CIH will be providing a superbill with procedure codes and diagnosis codes, with which you can use a software called Reimbursify which makes it easy for you to submit out-of-network claims to your insurance company.
The above information does not apply to Medicare: Per Medicare guidelines, patients are not eligible for out-of-network reimbursement.
TrueMed (HSA, FSA) - coming
TrueMed is a payment tool that allows health and wellness companies to accept HSA/FSA funds.
Save an average of 30% when you spend with pre-tax HSA/FSA money.
What are the details of the Gold Membership?
The value of the Gold Membership is in optimizing your wellness and maximizing the value of all services, including functional medicine, functional nutrition, IV therapy, and integrative bodywork.
Benefits of the Gold Membership include the following:
Individual:
1 IV standard immunoboost per month (no substitutions) OR 1 ozone treatment per month included
1 InBody (body composition analysis) per month
2 red light therapy sessions per month
2 sauna sessions per month
20% discount off of all cash visits and services.
Family:
2 IV standard immunoboost per month (no substitutions) OR 1 ozone treatment per month included
2 InBody (body composition analysis) per month
2 red light therapy sessions per month
2 sauna sessions per month
20% discount off of all cash visits and services.
We will continue to have the Gold Membership as a recommended way that our team has designed to optimize your wellness (details below)
We will continue to have the Standard Membership if you joined the practice before a certain date (details below)
The cost of the Gold Membership is $199/month for an individual or $299/month for a family (2 or more members living in the same household)
What are the details of the Standard Membership?
This is only applicable to existing patients that are “grandparented” already on the Standard Membership.
Benefits of the Standard Membership include the following:
Individual or Family:
1 InBody (body composition analysis) per month
1 red light therapy session per month
1 sauna session per month
20% discount off of all cash visits and services.
We will continue to have the Gold Membership as a recommended way that our team has designed to optimize your wellness (details below)
We will continue to have the Standard Membership if you joined the practice before a certain date (details below)
What are the details of the Standard Membership?
This is only applicable to existing patients that are “grandparented” already on the Standard Membership.
Benefits of the Standard Membership include the following:
Individual or Family:
1 InBody (body composition analysis) per month
1 red light therapy session per month
1 sauna session per month
20% discount off of all cash visits and services.
We will continue to have the Gold Membership as a recommended way that our team has designed to optimize your wellness (details below)
We will continue to have the Standard Membership if you joined the practice before a certain date (details below)
Can I see a prescribing medical provider without paying for a membership?
Yes, you can see our prescribing medical providers (MD, DO, NP, PA) without paying for a membership.
Cash rates for non-members are about 20% higher, so consider enrolling in our membership program, which has other benefits as well.
Can I see nutrition, naturopathic medicine, IV therapy, or wellness services without paying for a membership?
Yes, you can see nutrition, naturopathic medicine, IV therapy, or wellness services without paying for a membership.
Seeing IV therapy requires medical evaluation and follow-up with one of our prescribing medical providers (MD, DO, NP, PA).
Nutrition visits, acupuncture, naturopathic visits, and integrative bodywork DO NOT require a medical evaluation from a prescribing provider (MD, DO, NP, PA).
Introducing our new team members:
Candace Willett, PNP
Experienced functional medicine provider who specializes in seeing ages 25 and under for functional pediatric consultations.
She is a graduate of Yale and is certified as a nurse practitioner.
Common conditions: general wellness and holistic optimization of health, Lyme disease, chronic Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), PANS/PANDAS, mast cell activation disorder (MCAS), dysautonomic and paroxysmal orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), autism, attention-deficit disorder (ADD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, depression, chronic gut issues including constipation, reflux, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
For ages 26 and up, Candace can see patients in consultation with a main adult provider here at CIH. Typically, she will see patients for Lyme and chronic immune issues, for which she has special expertise.
Candace is not a primary care provider but will be able to see patients for general wellness. Any acute infectious concerns or illnesses should be first directed toward your child’s PCP.
Candace has opted out of insurance and Medicare, therefore all her visits are out-of-network and payable at the time of service.
Katie Ritchie, PA-C
Experienced functional medicine provider who specializes in seeing ages 18 and over for functional medicine consultations.
She is a graduate of the master’s program in Physician Assistant Studies from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has completed an integrative medicine master’s program with a concentration in nutrition at George Washington University.
Common conditions: general wellness and holistic optimization of health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight loss, hormone balance including bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), adrenal and thyroid disorders, PMS, PCOS, perimenopause and menopause, mold toxicity, mast cell activation disorder (MCAS), chronic gut issues including constipation, reflux, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Katie is currently in-network for medical visits (under the supervision of Dr. Wong) for Medicare (until 4/1/25) and United (until 5/1/25), and out-of-network with other insurances.
Conclusion and Q&A
Thank you for attending and participating in the town hall!
We appreciate you. We are navigating these changes with you and we are on your team.
We care about you, and we are all in this together.
Our goal is to work together to come up with care solutions so that you can continue your health and wellness journey in the best way possible.
In health and healing,
Andrew Wong, MD, IFMCP
CEO & Medical Director