Frequently Asked Questions

Root is set up as a membership practice because, if we were to be able to offer "one off" visits, we would have thousands of people trying to get in for short appointments (just like every other "one visit" model out there) and we wouldn't be able to see the real change and support that we value at Root. In order to secure the time and space and a limited number of members per doctor, we need to continue to be a membership practice in order to give the highest level of attention to each person. 

A Root membership saves our members thousands of dollars every year by reducing doctor's visit costs & lab costs, and by treating issues at the Root cause avoiding unnecessary procedures and high cost medications.

We have treated thousands of members at Root and our data shows that 98% of people improve their symptom score by month 3.

Being to multiple practitioners and "trying everything before" is the rule rather than the exception when people sign up as new members. While it's definitely not a requirement to try different treatments before joining Root, nearly everyone tells us this before signing up. Yet we still help them. Why?

Unless you have one of the following three conditions that we do not treat at Root (MCAS, active cancers, and Lyme disease), we can help you.

Because supplement recommendations are so personalized based on your preferences, health goals and lab results, we did not include them in the package price. However, you will receive a 20% discount on Root supplements during your membership. 

You can cancel your Root membership at any time by contacting Root and giving 30 days notice. Any charges that are pending in that 30 days will go through, and you will have access to Root services for the 30 days from the date of your notice.

Memberships auto debit monthly or yearly. You can elect to pay for 12 months upfront and save $300.

All memberships and payments are not refundable.

Yes! 

Root is an insurance-free practice. We work in partnership with you instead of your insurance company. This allows us to maintain transparency, a hassle-free and calming environment without anxiety about unknown bills. At Root, you are investing in your long-term health, and we spend the time needed to focus on you and prevention/reversal of illness.

We also do not give receipts for insurance, because insurance does not pay for memberships (part of what you are paying in your program cost at Root is the ability to be in a small practice where the doctors and dietitians have time outside your visits to review your case) and we include labs through direct prices. Direct lab pricing by definition is not reimbursable by insurance. Transparency and authenticity are one of our core values, and we don't believe in just getting you in the door with the false premise that any of it may be covered by insurance, because, in our experience it usually isn't! We'd much rather give you the important aspects of finding the root cause right in your transparent program cost, saving members thousands of dollars in unexpected bills.

You can read more about why we are insurance-free here.

Yes, it's true. You can schedule as many visits with your doctor and/or dietitian as needed.  All visits are online appointments that are one to one with your doctor and dietitian lasting 30-60 minutes each.

We want to be there for you when you need us. How do we do it? We keep a small number of members per doctor/dietitian in order to be available for you. Our doctors carry only about 5% the volume of patients of a conventional doctor. This is a benefit of a membership practice.

All new members will have the option to do our included Root wellness lab testing panel, ordered at the first visit with your doctor. The Root wellness lab panel includes:

Biomarkers for nutrition, detox, blood sugar balance, full thyroid panel, and inflammation. (Estimated value of our Root panel ~$2100).

Additional functional lab testing can be ordered at direct, transparent pricing. You can read more about our lab testing here.

Root memberships are available online to people who are in the states of:
AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NV, NY, NC, OH, OK,  PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI and more coming!

Our sign up fee helps cover the upfront detective work of our doctor and dietitian team in digging into your Root causes, your lengthy intake visit and process, and the immediate access to our platform which includes educational courses & digital meal plans developed and tested in house by a team of doctors, dietitians, and chefs.

Nutrition is a foundational piece of functional medicine. We believe you can’t practice functional medicine without it. It impacts blood sugar balance, micronutrient status, gut health, hormone health, and more.

Dietitians can help with any questions you may have from your visit with a doctor, supplement questions, troubleshooting tolerating supplements, and if there is a question we can’t answer, everyone on our team communicates regularly on cases to ensure we are providing the most comprehensive care. We can help you get the information you need.

During visits with one of our dietitians we determine how we are going to use nutrition to support your healing. 

We sort through the confusing and conflicting nutrition information and explain why we are making the recommendations that we are. We put together a realistic and achievable plan with an emphasis on nourishment and diversity, not restriction. 

We share our favorite nutrition resources, Root Farmacy® meal plans, and personalized meal ideas.  We also work with you to set realistic & achievable goals during our visits.

Our doctors and dietitians are truly invested in seeing your success. Having a nutrition expert on your team is key to our success together.

There are very few things that our processes at Root would not help. However, We do not treat MCAS, Lyme disease, or active cancers and would refer out to specialists for those conditions if we suspect that may be going on for you. 

Root doctors are functional medicine specialists and not available for same day or acute issues that would better be handled in Urgent Care or with PCP, like UTIs, acute viruses or infections, etc. We cannot replace primary care and are not able to do routine physicals and other insurance based orders like mammograms, etc.

We do not prescribe controlled substances such as narcotics or certain classes of anxiety or ADHD medications. Our membership would target these concerns naturally and can be a complement to other care for these conditions that you currently have in place.

We accept members ages 14 and older.

Root is a Functional Medicine specialty practice and not set up for primary care. We are happy to communicate any findings and treatment plans with your PCP with your permission. We are not available for same day or acute concerns. 

All of our MD or DO physicians are board certified in family medicine or internal medicine and certified by the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM). IFM is the only organization providing functional medicine certification, along with educational programs directly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

Our Dietitians have masters level nutrition training and additional advanced training and experience in functional nutrition.