How Big Island WellCare works with your insurance.
We are not your insurance. We work alongside it. Here is exactly how that works.
The short version.
Your membership is not billed through insurance. It is a flat monthly fee paid directly to us. This is what lets us spend real time with you instead of fighting with insurance companies.
Your labs can usually be billed to your insurance, just like at any other doctor's office. We typically send you to Quest or Labcorp, and they bill your insurance directly.
Your specialist visits, hospitalizations, surgeries, imaging, and emergency care all continue to run through your regular insurance. Big Island WellCare does not replace your insurance — it works alongside it.
What this means for your wallet.
Most members keep their existing insurance plan exactly as it is. They add Big Island WellCare membership on top of it. Here is what changes:
- Your insurance plan, premiums, deductibles, and copays continue exactly as before
- Your insurance still covers specialists, hospitalization, imaging, surgery, and emergency care
- Your insurance still covers most of your prescription medications
- Most lab work ordered at Quest or Labcorp is still billed to your insurance
- A flat monthly membership fee paid directly to Big Island WellCare
- Unhurried primary care visits without insurance billing in between you and your doctor
- Direct access to Dr. King by phone, text, or email during business hours
- Wholesale access to many medications and labs at significantly reduced prices
About insurance in Hawai‘i specifically.
Hawai‘i has unique insurance requirements. The Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act requires most employed residents to carry approved health insurance through their employer. Big Island WellCare membership is not insurance and does not satisfy this requirement. Members keep their existing insurance and add membership on top. This is the standard model for direct primary care everywhere in the United States.
If you are on Medicare.
Dr. King has opted out of Medicare under federal regulations. This means Medicare patients join through a private contract acknowledging that Medicare will not pay for the physician's services directly. Your Medicare benefits remain fully intact for everything else — specialist visits, hospitalizations, imaging, lab work, and prescription medications all continue to be covered by Medicare exactly as before. The membership covers your primary care relationship with Dr. King: the time, the access, the prevention work.
If you are on Medicare and considering membership, please book a discovery call so we can walk through the specifics of how this works for you.
HSA and FSA accounts.
Many Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account plans reimburse direct primary care membership fees. The rules vary by plan administrator. We recommend asking your HSA or FSA administrator whether Big Island WellCare membership qualifies under your plan. Beginning in 2026, federal rules also permit HSA-eligible DPC arrangements up to $150 per month for individuals.
Still have questions about insurance?
We expect them. Book a free discovery call and we will walk you through how membership would work with your specific situation.
Book a Discovery CallDr. Kristy King, MD has opted out of Medicare under 42 CFR §405.400 et seq. Medicare beneficiaries who become members enter into a private contract acknowledging that Medicare will not pay for services provided by Dr. King. This does not affect Medicare coverage for services provided by other physicians, labs, imaging centers, hospitals, or pharmacies. Big Island WellCare membership is not health insurance and does not satisfy any individual or employer mandate to provide or maintain qualifying health coverage.