WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today introduced Kansan Dr. Josh Umbehr, M.D. who testified in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on his innovative primary care model to keep health care costs down while still providing quality care to patients. Dr. Umbehr practices in Wichita.

At the hearing, titled “How Primary Care Affects Health Care Costs and Outcomes,” Sen. Roberts questioned Dr. Umbehr about rural health and the value a Direct Primary Care (DPC) model could bring to rural areas because it doesn’t rely on a high volume of insured patients and helps lower overall costs to both the system and the patient. They also discussed small business insurance and how the DPC model works with small employer-provided insurance and lowers costs for both businesses and patients.

Lastly, during the hearing they discussed prescription drugs and how a DPC model could help lower drug costs to patients.

The following are Senator Roberts’ remarks as prepared for delivery.

It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce Dr. Josh Umbehr before the Senate HELP Committee this morning. Dr. Umbehr is a native Kansan; he was born and raised in Alma and attended Manhattan High School. He and his wife Lisa both attended Kansas State University, my alma mater, where Dr. Umbehr majored in human nutritional sciences with a minor in biology.

After graduating from K-State, Dr. Umbehr went on to the University of Kansas School of Medicine before completing his family medicine residency at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

Dr. Umbehr is a board-certified family physician. In 2010, he co-founded Atlas MD Family Practice, a membership-based Direct Primary Care practice with two locations in Wichita. Through its innovative model, Atlas MD offers its members free home, work and office visits, unlimited free telemedicine, free office-based procedures and a guarantee of no co-pays.

Atlas MD focuses on building relationships between patients and their doctors through transparent partnerships that prioritize face-to-face care and avoiding unnecessary and burdensome paperwork. Kansas is very fortunate to have Dr. Umbehr and his colleagues at Atlas MD to serve as a model for how Direct Primary Care can help drive down health costs while also delivering high quality care to patients.  

Welcome, Dr. Umbehr. We are thrilled to have you here this morning and look forward to your testimony.

For video of this introduction, click here.

To watch video of the entire hearing, click here.