Some Questions and Answers about Seraphine Clinic...

Question: What motivated you to start Seraphine Clinic?

Robert: I have always been alarmed at the great disparity in pricing for insured versus uninsured people seeking medical care, as well as the ever-increasing cost of medical or health insurance. It disturbed me to see how much of my overall income went to pay for medical bills, premiums, etc. While in school, three key events happened. First, my wife delivered our 4 th child. When I got the bills and saw how much I would have paid without medical insurance, I could see how someone with a $5000 maternity deductible or no maternity insurance would benefit from a low-cost service. Second, when my wife and four children all became sick with strep throat, it astounded me that, even with insurance (I had a $1000 deductible), I ended up paying well over $500 to have them evaluated and treated. It was almost as if I didn't have any insurance. Lastly, when my daughter went in for a routine physical exam, the entire claim was not paid because the insurance told us that one of the codes used wasn't on their "covered services" list. As a result of these and other experiences, I decided to start a clinic that focused exclusively on providing lower-cost medical care to the uninsured. Along with the uninsured, we now are starting to see more and more people who have insurance with high medical deductibles because it is still cheaper to come and see us.

Question: Was it hard to start your clinic?

Robert: Yes and no.

Question: What do you mean?

Robert: When I say "no", it's because I had the support of my wife and family from the beginning. I also have a vision of the future, of what "could be" or "will be", that drives me and motivates me, turning challenges and obstacles into opportunities.

When I say "yes", it's because I purposely chose a difficult path for starting a medical clinic, realizing that the long term outcome would be worth the effort. Using a different business model could have provided benefits like federal grants, grants from many private foundations, student loan repayment, savings on malpractice insurance, and tax savings, to name a few. At the same time, it would have created a dependency on tax payer dollars or other outside funding. By also not getting on insurance panels, I gave up the opportunity for reimbursement by private and government insurances like Blue Cross, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.

I chose, instead, to use my own money and resources to cover start-up costs. Why? Because I wanted to provide a service that would assist the community, help people be independent of the government, provide a true and instant economic benefit, and that was not dependent on taxpayer money or grants to survive. It seems that most people count on government funding or grants to always be a steady source of money to allow the provision of "free" or "low-cost" care. What will happen to the thousands who have become dependent on these services when funding problems develop? I would hope that Seraphine Clinic will be a safety net for those people.

It hasn't been easy, but the sacrifice has been worth it. We ended up having so many people coming from Utah County to our Taylorsville location that we opened a second clinic in Orem .

Question: Why don't you accept Medicaid or Medicare?

Robert: Medicaid and Medicare are types of medical insurance. My primary focus is to help the uninsured or those who would benefit from our lower costs.

Question: Who would benefit from the services of Seraphine Clinic?

Robert: All people without medical insurance. We constantly strive to provide a high quality service to everyone. Even people with insurances will often save money coming to our clinic. For example, someone with a $500 deductible who doesn't require expensive medications each month would likely not meet their deductible at Seraphine Clinic, even though they had 5-10 visits per year. This means that they would save the money that they didn't have to spend to meet their deductible. We also include a staff that is fluent in Spanish, so we are an excellent resource for the Spanish-speaking individual.

Question: Do I have to have an appointment?

Robert: No. We try to see everyone that comes to the clinic each day, with or without an appointment. We do try to see those with appointments at the time of their appointment and are happy to work walk-in clients in, asking only for your patience as we work you into the schedule.

Question: What type of medical providers do you have in your clinic?

Robert: Among our staff, we have individuals credentialed as nurse practitioners (NP), certified nurse midwives (CNM), physician assistants (PA), and doctors (MD). As much as we can, we try to provide the option of a male or female provider, depending on the patient's preference and available staffing. Please refer to the biographies on each medical provider for more information. Two key factors are looked at when I hire a medical provider. First, do they have good skills? Second, do they really care about the people?

Question: How are you different from the community health centers like Copperview, Mountainlands, etc.?

Robert: We don't use any income qualification guidelines to determine how much you pay or whether you can be seen---everybody qualifies. Community health centers are usually federally-qualified or non-profit organizations; we are a private Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). Federally-qualified or non-profit organizations obtain part of their funding from their patients; the rest comes through tax breaks, grants, donations, and, in some cases, by charging higher prices to those who pay to offset the expenses of those who don't pay or who pay reduced amounts. Our clinic is funded entirely by our patients. Federally-qualified or non-profit organizations are most financially advantageous to the people who qualify for discounted or free medical care. We offer a great benefit to people of all socioeconomic classes.

Question: Any last words?

Robert: Our pricing attracts people; our service brings them back. Most of our business referrals come from patients who refer their friends to the clinic. Come in and try our services today!

SERAPHINE CLINIC OREM

560 South State Street , Suite B-1, OREM , UTAH

Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Tuesdays 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Telephone: (801) 434-8000 Fax: (801) 235-9000

SERAPHINE CLINIC TAYLORSVILLE

6216 South Redwood Road , TAYLORSVILLE , UTAH

Hours: Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saturdays 9:00 am to 2:00 pm