To help sustain these services amid rising operational costs, we have instituted a non-refundable $250 Annual Practice Fee. This fee helps support non-clinical and coordination services that enhance your experience at our practice. These non-clinical and coordination services are not billable to, or reimbursed by, insurance or Medicare. 

The Annual Practice Fee does not cover or replace any clinical services that may be billed to Medicare or your insurance. All medical services covered by Medicare or your health plan will continue to be billed in the usual manner. 

You will be emailed or physically mailed an invoice labeled “Annual Practice Fee”. The Annual Practice Fee is 

- “An” vs “a voluntary” out-of-pocket expense not covered by insurance and subject to change. 

- Your responsibility to pay

- Not billable to your insurance company. You should, however, check with your benefits administrator about whether this fee is FSA or HSA reimbursement eligible. 

A $25 discount is available if you opt to receive your invoice by email and pay by credit card through the embedded payment link on the emailed invoice. If there is more than one patient in a household covered by the same health insurance policy, then the fee can be discounted to $150 for every successive family member living in the same residence and covered by the same health insurance policy. The Family Discount must be approved by the Billing Office. Please submit your request for a Family Member Discount HERE.

The Annual Practice Fee is assessed on a yearly basis. The current term began on September 1, 2025 and provides coverage through August 31, 2026. Each new term starts on September 1 and ends on August 31 of the following year.

Independent, relationship-based private medical practices are different from large health systems. That difference is felt in your experience with a provider who knows you and your health care situation.  Much of what makes the Mercy Doctors provider-patient care model unique – enhanced access, communication, and comprehensive non-clinical services and support -- is increasingly costly to provide and is not compensated by insurance.  In order to continue offering this level of care without cutting corners or losing the personal touch, we have introduced the Annual Practice Fee.

By choosing a small, independent practice like ours, you’ve opted into a more personal, relationship-based model of care—one that already delivers a high level of clinical attention and responsiveness. Part of what makes this possible is the non-clinical support we provide behind the scenes: enhanced access, communication, and comprehensive services and support not covered by insurance. In order to sustain these services, participation in our practice now includes an Annual Practice Fee that applies to all patients.

Non-payment of the Annual Practice Fee may result in charges for non-clinical, non-covered services. Patients will be advised of the charges prior to accepting the service. Access to healthcare services covered by your insurance will not change.

Visit the Annual Practice Fee payment page or check the invoice that we sent you for instructions!

The purpose of this fee is to ensure that our patients can continue to enjoy the convenience of enhanced access, communication, and comprehensive non-clinical services and support not paid for by insurance, including:

• Comprehensive primary care that considers your overall well-being and embraces a preventive and integrative/holistic approach while being available to help you in your time of need.

• A strong provider-patient relationship that ensures personalized and consistent medical care with direct access to your personal physician, other physician partners, and our experienced nurse practitioners.

• Priority same-day or next-day urgent appointments available in-person, via video, or telephone.

• Referrals to our curated network of world-class Bay Area specialists.

• After-hours telephone access to our on-call physicians available 24/7 for urgent medical advice (Dial 911 for life-threatening emergencies).

• Utilization of a top-ranked electronic health record (Practice Fusion) connected to numerous Bay Area hospitals, laboratories, imaging facilities, and physician offices.

• Medication support, including e-prescriptions and same-day refills authorized without requiring a scheduled visit when medically appropriate.

• Care coordination not associated with covered service - including communication with non-contracted or out-of-network specialists, obtaining and reviewing external test results - to support comprehensive, continuous care.

In addition, we offer a range of non-clinical services that are not covered by insurance but are essential to maintaining our high-touch, accessible care model. These include:

• Help with scheduling outside appointments and navigating referrals.

• Completion of forms and provider letters such as FMLA, workplace accommodations, school, disability (SSDI excluded), or travel documentation.

• Secure messaging for non-urgent needs and non-clinical administrative requests

• Patient portal support and technical assistance.

• Priority scheduling for annual exams.

The standard fee is $250 per year and is non-refundable.

A $25 discount is available if you opt to receive your invoice by email and pay by credit card from the embedded payment link on the emailed invoice. Please submit your email through the form HERE. Every successive family member living in the same residence as a full fee-paying patient and covered by the same health insurance policy is eligible to receive a $100 discount (paying $150 instead of $250). The Family Member Discount must be approved by the Billing Office. Please submit your request for a Family Member Discount HERE.

You will be billed in one of two ways: 

By Email – If we have your email address, you’ll receive a personalized invoice with a secure embedded payment link. This is the easiest and fastest method. A $25 discount is available if you opt to receive your invoice by email and pay by credit card from the embedded payment link on the emailed invoice. 

By Mail – If we don’t have your email, you’ll receive a paper invoice with payment instructions. You can pay by check or use the secure payment link. Credit card payments made in this fashion are not eligible for the discount. 

Yes. Visit our secure Annual Practice Fee payment page and follow the directions to settle your fee.

If you received both, no worries! If you've already paid, simply disregard the paper invoice. The systems run in parallel, and there may be brief overlaps in communication.

Please email us at: billing_mdmgsf@protonmail.com.

No. Since this fee is not an insurance-covered benefit, it will not be billed through your insurance and therefore will not count toward your deductible or insurance limits.