Hello from the Deepening Darkness

Tracy McDaniel • Dec 31, 2021

Comings and goings, boosters, covid vax for kids and a new contraceptive option!

December is almost here, we're nearing the longest dark night of the year. Doesn't that feel just about right?   It's been good to be with you these last months, as we've had reprieve from pressure of the pandemic. Like you, we're watching this new Omicron Variant closely. Not sure yet what to make of it, but watching closely.


What's happening at One Sky? We're glad you asked!

  • Dr. Blackham is leaving to start her own practice
  • We've welcomed our new Resident Alexandra Owen, ND
  • Pediatric Covid-19 vaccine is here and available
  • Moderna vaccine in stock for primary doses and boosters
  • What?! A new low tech, non-hormonal birth control option. Very cool. We needed some good news!
  • Open Enrollment and the WA healthcare exchange updates and conundrums


It's been a delight to have Lauren Blackham, ND as a part of the OSFM team for 3 years now. She's completed her Residency, stayed with us for an extra year and is now launching her own practice in Wallingford. We'll miss her and wish her a smooth transition and all the best in her new endeavor. You can read more about her practice here.


We're thrilled to introduce our new Resident Alexandra Owen, ND. She graduated the ND program at Bastyr University in the Spring, though we've known her for quite some time as a student. Dr. Owen has a special skill for working with kids and is an excellent physician. We're so excited to have her with us for the next 2 years. You can read more about her here

 

COVID news. Sheesh, can you believe we're still talking about COVID? We are talking about it in a different way, though, have you noticed? The conversations now are more about figuring out how we're going live with this virus rather than how to get rid of it, though our nervous systems are still debating the details. 


In the meantime, we want to let you know that we have received our pediatric vaccine as well as plenty of booster. We now have:

  • Pediatric Pfizer for kids 5-11 years of age
  • Moderna vaccine for adults 18+, for their primary doses and boosters
  • We do not have vaccine for kids 12-18. That's still coming in packages of 1000+, we'll get it when they package for smaller clinics.


We're not doing "COVID vaccine clinics" at this point, because we have plenty of vaccine and have decided to integrate these appointments into our regular clinic day for now. Please make sure to select COVID Vaccine as your visit type when you search for an appointment online. If you need to come at another time of day, you can schedule it as an IMMUNIZATION visit, but know that you'll have to re-do your check-in once we get the visit scheduled properly.  Moderna boosters are available for anyone who finished their primary series of Pfizer or Moderna 6 months ago, or J&J 2 months ago. 


WA verify is the new, much easier website for accessing your COVID vaccine record online and getting a QR code. Please also remember to bring your card if you come for a second or booster dose of COVID vaccine so that we can update it for you.


We have plenty of flu vaccine. We've decided not to do a separate flu clinic this year but feel free to schedule a flu vaccine anytime. As always, we have preservative free, quadrivalent vaccine. We also have flu-mist this year for kids 2-19 years of age who are eligible. 


New contraception? What is this strange new magic?  When was the last time we had new contraception? It's been a WHILE! We look forward to hearing from those willing to share their experiences, but so far we're excited to share what we've learned about this simple approach to birth control. Phexxi was approved in 2020, and works using simple ingredients that acidify the vagina, creating an environment that keeps sperm from making it upstream. It is placed using an applicator and must be used within 1 hour of penis in vagina sex.  Efficacy is pretty decent, though it offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections. Check it out on their website https://www.phexxi.com. It does require a prescription for now, which we're happy to do or you can use their online service.


Lastly, since it's open enrollment time, we wanted to give you a heads up that we're having some issues with our United Healthcare contract, and specifically expecting challenges with the healthcare exchange United Plans. We've had a direct contract with them for many years that has allowed us to continue to work with United when most other naturopathic practices have ended their relationship with the company due to poor reimbursement. This year it's looking like we may lose our "grandmothered" contract, at the same time the company is requiring a slew of new administrative work on the part of contracted doctors to act as gatekeepers of patient care. They're requiring their customers to have named PCP's to manage referrals and complete a complex pre-authorization process. To complicate matters, they're insistent on calling us "specialists" rather than "primary care providers". That means you'd need to have another doctor be your primary and refer you to us for specialty care, which is associated with higher copays and co-insurance. We wanted to let you know right away, because the United Exchange plan is the one we're hearing from folks complain about most. Commercial United plans through employers seem to be fine for now. Stay tuned for more information as we continue our negotiation. 


It's difficult even for us to keep up to date on all the "sub-plans" but we think that the following Exchange plans are covering people's care here

  • Molina Marketplace
  • Premera Individual Exchange plans
  • Molina Apple Health
  • Coordinated Care Apple Health
  • Ambetter Individual Exchange plans (some question about this one too)


We encourage you to confirm that we're covered before you select your plan. You can double check out TIN 45-4855451 and NPI numbers are as follows (the top type 2 number is for the organization and the bottom type 1 numbers are the individual provider numbers:


OSFM group (type 2) NPI 1013268622

  • Barrett type 1 NPI 1194337097
  • Gray type 1 NPI 1639256027
  • McDaniel type 1 NPI 1427048651
  • Owen type 1 NPI 1669049961
  • Short type 1 NPI 1477974392
  • Whitaker type 1 NPI 1417401498


We hope that you and those you love are well connected and supporting each other, and that you find some peace, rest, and healing this Winter season. 

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