Direct Primary Care, or DPC, is a model of healthcare that puts patients first by getting rid of the red tape by which most other traditional practices are restricted.  Medicine made simple. 

Find out more here.

rootsMD is a Direct Care family medicine practice in Verona, WI.  We are less than 10min west of Madison, and serve patients in the greater Dane County area. Healthcare from our team is immediate, convenient, thorough, comprehensive, easily affordable, and very, very personal.  Back to the roots of family medicine, and physician-led care.

Members enjoy more time with their doctor than in a traditional practice, no wait times, wholesale pricing on lab work and deeply discounted prices on 100’s of prescription medicines – up to 85% lower than through insurance based practices or retailers!

The terms are often used interchangeably, however there are some differences.  Concierge practices typically bill insurance like traditional practices, but then also charge patients a “concierge” retainer fee in addition. Direct Primary Care is a healthcare model focused on putting the patient first. That means treating them when they need it, not rushing patients through appointments, and being proactive with healthcare treatment plans. The doctor-patient relationship is just as the name suggests – direct. Direct Primary Care clinics don’t accept insurance, rather they choose to work directly with the patient, providing wholesale labs, deeply discounted prescription prices, and other costs savings along the way.

The best way to reach us is via this online Enrollment Inquiry Link

We provide comprehensive routine Family Medicine services and many additional office based procedures. 

You can access the full list of included and additional services by following the link to our Services Offered page.

We use a monthly membership model for health care.  Additional information can be found on our MEMBERSHIP PRICING PAGE. 

All memberships are paid by secure ACH transfer. Patients are able to enter their preferred checking or savings account information via encrypted billing platform that is part of their secure patient portal. 

Of course. Everyone benefits from a service customized directly to them. That’s why we offer truly innovative healthcare. While we’re absolutely here for your reactive needs, proactive healthcare is the foundation of well-being, and that’s where we shine.

We have the gift of time. Even better? We save you time. No long waits to schedule visits or 30 minutes spent in the waiting room before even seeing your doctor. We provide care by traditional office visit, phone, email, and video. Whatever makes sense for your need at hand. Wherever you are when you do need us.

Dr. Preimesberger sees her patients on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

Dr. Kuhl sees her patients on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

Office hours are generally 9am – 4pm and BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. 

Portal messages are checked at least once daily M-F even physician “out” days to address any more urgent interim concerns. In general, each physician sees and responds to their own patients to ensure continuity of care. 

We also need to time to recharge with our families and take vacations just as we encourage our patients to do! This keeps us happy physicians (and happy humans), and happy rested docs provide excellent care. If there is a prolonged period of “unavailable” time anticipated, patients will be notified so that all non-urgent needs can be addressed prior by their own physician (med refills, etc). We do not guarantee 24/7/365 access. Patients may need to utilize Urgent Care for acute issues during vacation periods. 

No, we don’t bill or use health insurance at rootsMD. By removing the administrative and overhead barriers of insurance billing, we are able to deliver less costly and higher quality health care services, with our entire focus on you. We have 30 to 60 minute appointments so that we can really get to know who you are and understand your health goals, and help you meet those health goals. 

No.

Patients may submit dispensed medication and self-pay lab or procedure invoices from rootsMD for FSA or HSA reimbursement for eligible expenses. 

No.  We recommend that you have health insurance for unexpected and catastrophic needs, which would cover you in the case of events such as a surgery, high end diagnostic test, heart attack, stroke, or cancer care.

What we offer at rootsMD DPC is primary health care, with an emphasis on care. We can take care of 80 – 90% of what you may need to prevent disease and manage chronic health concerns.  We deliver a hassle-free health care experience at our office.

Some patients continue their standard commercial insurance plans and opt-in to a DPC membership for the benefits of improved access to their own physician and additional savings on labs, medications and time.  Some will utilize a major medical plan with a high deductible and health savings account (HD/HSA) to ensure financial help should hospitalization or referral to a specialist be necessary but save on up front premiums. Others use health sharing ministries coupled with DPC care.  Self-funded employers or small businesses may opt to offer a wrap around plan with DPC for their employees. 

Patients may still use their insurance outside of the DPC clinic for labs, medications, imaging** and specialist referrals ordered by their rootsMD physician, as well as for Urgent Care, Emergency Dept and hospital admissions/surgeries.

• Patients should be aware of their insurance-preferred system for tests and referrals (UW vs SSM, etc)
• Local health systems may limit services to specific sites for “outside physician orders” (ie outpatient lab orders only drawn at the hospital outpatient lab)
• rootsMD is not responsible for deductible and co-insurance costs for services outside our office

**HMO PLANS: please note these restrictive health plans may require their patient members to see an in-network clinician for orders/approval of services for which the HMO requires prior authorization if patient desires insurance billing (ie CT, MRI, etc)  . . . even when your licensed and board certified rootsMD physician feels they are indicated. Quartz and Dean Health Plan will allow rootsMD physicians to order basic imaging (xray, ultrasound) with insurance coverage so long as the studies are done at an in-network radiology site.

Some rootsMD members with an HMO plan choose to maintain a relationship with a local insurance-based clinician in case these they need to be seen there when prior auth needs arise. Patients on high-deductible plans may find that many of these tests are less expensive choosing self-pay at a local independent radiology center!

Yes. You need only sign a one-time waiver declaring that neither you nor your doctor will directly bill Medicare/Medicaid for our services. Dr. Preimesberger is “opted out” of Medicare/Medicaid billing for services she provides. These plans still generally cover any laboratory testing, imaging, medications, or hospitalizations prescribed by her. 

As additional physicians join our practice, it’s possible they may still be “opted-in” as a Medicare billing provider to fulfill requirements for outside employers or moonlighting work. This means they cannot contract directly with patients under a Medicare/Medicaid plan for services provided at rootsMD. As their direct primary care practice grows, they may also opt-out of billing contracts with these plans, allowing them to contract directly with patients in the DPC model.

PLEASE NOTE: our practice does not take patients with Medicare Advantage plans. These plans are very restrictive, functioning like HMO insurance, and will not allow us to provide comprehensive care for you. They will require you to see a clinician that is contracted with them in order to help cover testing, referrals, etc that may be indicated. 

If you are interested in being added to the Medicare Patient Wait List, please click here!

Membership Includes:

• All communication and visits without copays (secure messaging, phone, video or office visit)
• Access to discounted self-pay labs and diagnostics (spirometry, Zio cardiac monitoring, sleep studies, etc), generic meds dispensed from office (if Rx’d and managed by rootsMD PCP), office procedures, local independent radiology services. 

Membership Terms

• Members commit to at least 6 months: we believe continuity is key to the physician-patient relationship and overall health
• Family medicine services are limited to members-only; this ensures timely access for our members
• Members may cancel with 30 days notice any time after 6 months; re-enrollment fee may apply to return to membership and is not guaranteed
• One-time initial enrollment fee due at time of registration to guarantee membership spot; non-refundable 
• Membership billing is monthly (1st or 15th of each month), paid via ACH autodraft from checking or savings account (secure/encrypted billing platform w/in patient portal).
• The practice may dismiss patients at any time with 30 days notice in the rare event of contract breach, delinquent membership payments, or non-therapeutic patient physician relationship.
• Primary communication is through portal messaging. Our physicians are often taking care of scheduled patients or may be away from the office for administrative duties and cannot always answer the phone promptly. The portal allows secure messaging for private health communication.
• There may be times that the office/portal messaging is closed for physician vacation time: patients will be notified ahead of time for any of these “hard closures”. Weeks between Christmas and New Years, and 4th of July weeks are virtual-only weeks for acute needs. 
• Not every visit that is available for scheduling will show in the patient portal – this is to allow us to triage and accommodate visits when acute needs arise. Please message us if you have acute symptoms so we can sort out the best plan of care.

Because illness and injury do not respect regular office hours, you may call your physician after hours for triage of urgent health needs. Additionally, home visits and after hours urgent visits may be available for an additional fee as schedules permit and as deemed necessary.  You may always use our secure patient portal to access your medical record and then e-mail your physician. It’s how we do custom healthcare.

So, you’re available 24/7/365? …Not exactly. We are primary care physicians. This means we can address most problems, most of the time. We are also a very low cost medical clinic. We are cultivating something sustainable, enjoyable and transformative. And it requires a partnership with our patients. In this age of instant responses and digital access, we are striving for sustainability. We ask our patients to utilize our services, in person or electronically, when they need us. We also ask that if matters can wait until clinic hours that they do, so that we can also find time to recharge and “unplug” with our families, just as we recommend our patients do for wholehearted living and wellbeing. 

Another perk of a DPC practice!  Since we are independent of the restrictions of third-party payment, patients enjoy the freedom of care from their physician when and where they need it. 

Because we know you very well, we can streamline your care when you’re sick away from home. Many illnesses can be diagnosed and treated with a simple conversation by phone, email, text or webcam. We’ll locate the nearest pharmacy and order the medications most appropriate for your circumstances. If you need to be seen in person in your location while traveling, it’s possible we have a DPC physician colleague near you that we can coordinate care with. 

In providing superb care with unprecedented sorts of access, we seek to prevent or reduce hospitalizations and specialty referrals. In instances where those types of care are required, we may communicate with your hospitalist during your hospital stay as well as with any specialist. In some cases, depending on the level of care and the specific expertise required, we may rely on those specialized caregivers to manage your treatment.

Yes, we draw blood in the office by appointment for patients utilizing rootsMD membership for discounted self-pay labs. Patients that wish to complete their lab appointment outside of our scheduled hours (but still access our special rates), or wish to have their insurance billed for their lab work, may also have labs drawn directly at our collaborating lab:  LabCorp  in Madison, WI. 

We can also fax orders to designated UW and SSM Health lab draw sites for patients wishing to use insurance to pay for their lab work.

Most common lab work is less than $10 per test (lipid panel, metabolic panel, CBC, TSH, A1C, urine test for UTI, etc). All pricing is transparent and available to patients at the time of service. 

We can provide house calls when indicated; typically for members who cannot leave their homes. We charge $100/house call. Membership to the practice includes any/all visits in our office or via virtual platform for no additional charge. 

No. Our patients do not wait for their appointments. Because we do not see patients every 15-20 minutes, we see our patients on time. We also routinely have same-day or next-day appointments when acute health issues arise for our patients. 

We believe in the benefits, safety and science of vaccination. Patients are strongly encouraged to keep immunizations up to date. We will help you track which vaccines are recommended and when. 

Pending supply access, rootsMD may have Influenza and Tetanus vaccines available for on-site administration via self-pay. We cannot submit to insurance plans for payment coverage. Nationally, there are challenges securing individual quantities of routine vaccines for small independent clinics. 

Families have several options:

• uninsured:  free/discounted vaccination through Public Health Department
• insured:  vaccination at an insurance based clinic
• insured:  vaccination at a local pharmacy (check insurance coverage and age restrictions)