Wisp is on a mission to make sexual and reproductive care more convenient, accessible, and affordable. So why don’t we take insurance? If you have a good insurance plan, it makes finding and receiving care easier and much more affordable—that’s the point of insurance… isn’t it? Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Keep reading to learn more about how separating ourselves from insurance allows us to offer more accessible care to both our insured and uninsured patients!

Why doesn’t Wisp accept insurance?

There are three primary reasons why Wisp doesn’t work with health insurance companies:

• To keep costs transparent
• To offer efficient treatment
• To offer faster response times Let’s dive into each one of these reasons in more detail.

Keep costs transparent

Because we do not go through insurance, you know exactly how much you're paying for treatment when you opt for delivery. Insurance plans vary depending on the company and type of plan, and the amount you may have to pay will change depending on whether or not your provider was in-network, whether the pharmacy was in-network, and what level of medication coverage your plan offered, if any. We try to take the guesswork out of treatment costs by giving you your price upfront—no claims adjustments or appeals necessary.

Offer efficient treatment

Sometimes, insurance companies will deny a claim, which puts the burden of coverage on the patient. Alternative treatment methods may be recommended before an insurer will cover the doctor-recommended course of care. Denied claims require that patients and doctors enter into an appeals process, which in turn becomes a back and forth between doctors and insurance, and insurance and patients.

Additionally, figuring out which pharmacies and services fall under an individual’s plan can be a time-consuming and confusing process (even for the experts!). This additional step only adds even more time between seeking care and receiving treatment. When you're dealing with uncomfortable symptoms, the last thing you need is to have to wait for relief.

Offer faster response times

A single appeal to an insurance company can take weeks, months, or even years and involves a lot of paperwork. The process can be time consuming, so by freeing our Care Team from this burden, they are able to spend more time helping patients and getting them treatment in a timely manner.

What are the benefits of not taking insurance?

By avoiding the complicated processes that come along with insurance companies and paperwork, we are able to pass our savings on to you, our patients! Here’s what you can feel good about, without the burdens of insurance.

You have options

We still provide the option for you to pick up most medications from your local pharmacy, where you have the option to use your insurance if you want to. Insurance plans in the US fully cover the cost of birth control and we want you to make full use of that benefit if you can! We also offer free delivery of our own low-cost medications for patients who may find it hard to get to a pharmacy. It’s the best of both worlds.

No more uncertainty over pricing

When we deliver treatment from our partner pharmacies we are able to set our own prices and let you know what those are upfront. When you file a claim with insurance, there’s always a possibility of getting hit with a “balance due,” a payment that needs to be made to insurance that may come in weeks or months after you receive care. We value our ability to offer this transparency. And, if you know the cost of your prescription will be lower with your insurance coverage, you still typically have the option to pick it up locally at a pharmacy that can take your insurance!

Offering a wider range of treatment

Remember how we mentioned contracts with insurance companies make pricing unpredictable? The same goes for what treatments and medications we can offer. When we don’t work with insurance, Wisp isn’t limited in what we can offer and can provide treatments like Norethindrone Acetate to delay your period, or OMG! Cream for better orgasms. These treatments are still backed by research and prescribed by licensed clinicians, but because they don’t always address “valid medical concerns” (as determined by your insurance company, of course, not by you or your doctor) they typically aren’t covered by insurance.

At Wisp, we want to empower patients and put you in the driver’s seat. You and your healthcare provider know your body best, not insurance companies. We want to do everything we can to make sure you get the care you need quickly, easily, and at a lower cost, and sometimes, that means not involving insurance.