Mila Family Health

03/29/2026

Have you been screened for colon cancer?

Recently, guidelines have changed to recommend screening to start at 45 rather than 50 years of age.

Screening is simple - you don't necessarily need to start with a colonoscopy. You can start with a simple stool test. At Mila Family Health, this, test costs $33. IF the test is negative, GREAT! If the test is positive, then you'll need to get a DIAGNOSTIC colonoscopy.

There are some conditions that require earlier screening - make sure you talk to your P*P to find out if that applies to you!

Thank you Ismael Belkoura and The Fort Worth Report for sharing this story:
https://fortworthreport.org/2026/03/28/tarrant-county-colon-cancer-survivor-shares-story-highlights-the-importance-of-screenings/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=%F0%9F%92%99%20Colon%20cancer%20survivor%20s%20story%20shows%20importance%20of%20testing&utm_campaign=Your%20Report%202026-03-29

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for people under 50.

02/17/2026

‼️ The Heathcare system is overcharging patients. ‼️

Here is a recent story about a patient that experienced an over-charged visit… Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

Jana, a Seattle resident, recently went to her P*P for a visit. She intended the visit to be a “Preventative Visit” only but it ended up being coded as an “Office/Problem Visit” as well, causing her to be double-charged. Before the visit, to determine if she had any questions/concerns to address, Jana made sure to answer “No” so that the visit would be coded appropriately. Despite not having any problems to discuss, she was still charged for both visit types. She complained, and the billing department stated that they would review her case and get back to her in 120 days.

According to Jana, she only spent 15-20 minutes with the doctor and the outcome of the bill was $743.60.

🤔 Do you think what happened to Jana is fair? 🤔

Check out the bill (personal info redacted) and the document below and drop your thoughts in the comments 👇

11/20/2025

We don’t use car insurance for car care.
Not for oil changes, not for filling up the tank, not for a car wash.

We don’t use home insurance for home care.
Not for the electric bill, not for changing the AC filter, not for replacing a light bulb.

Because insurance has one purpose:
To protect us against risk, catastrophe, and the truly unpredictable.
You pay a little every month hoping you never have to use it — because if you do, it means something bad probably happened.

So…
Why do we use health insurance for health care?

Let's break it down:

1. We’ve been conditioned to think health insurance = health care.
But those are two very different things.

Having health insurance doesn’t guarantee access, time, affordability, or even care. It guarantees you a middleman. And that middleman controls price, access, and what “counts” as care.

2. We’ve been taught that care without insurance must be expensive.

It’s not.

A CBC through our clinic is about $3.
A CMP is about $4.

When billed through insurance? Those same labs routinely jump to $20–$100+.

Not because they cost more — but because insurance inflates the prices.

3. Using insurance for the routine and the mundane makes everything worse.

Primary care isn’t a catastrophe.

It’s the most predictable, most plannable part of medicine. Yet we funnel it through the most expensive, bureaucratic system possible… and then wonder why costs explode and quality collapses.

For everyday health care, using insurance is like using your home insurance to change a light bulb.

If you want lower costs, transparent pricing, and an actual relationship with your doctor instead of a claims process…

Stop using insurance for primary care.

Start using instead.

Send a message to learn more

11/05/2025

💡 A private school… built for low-income students?

If you’re intrigued, read on.
If you think that’s an oxymoron — definitely read on.

Today was the ribbon cutting for Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep's new STEAM Center, and I’ve got to brag on them — because what they’re doing might be one of the coolest social enterprises in the country.

Cristo Rey is a private high school designed specifically for students from low-income families.

So how does that work? Private school… without the private school price tag?

Here’s the genius:

💼 Every student is matched with a corporate partner — a local business or organization — where they work one day a week.

Their earnings from that corporate job help cover tuition, while they gain real-world experience, confidence, and professional skills.

And these aren’t simple “student jobs.”

They work at banks, hospitals, clinics, law firms — even here at Mila Family Health, where we have one freshman and one senior student worker.

Our student workers help with procedures, take vitals, brainstorm business ideas, and get to see healthcare and entrepreneurship up close.

It’s such a powerful, win-win model:
✅ Students learn by doing.
✅ Employers get to mentor and make an impact.
✅ The community benefits from more capable, confident young people entering the world.

Honestly, this apprenticeship-style education should exist everywhere.

If you’re an employer in , and you want to hear more, reach out to Cristo Rey’s Corporate Work Study Program.

10/27/2025

This article is titled "Is it cheaper to pay for medical care without health insurance?" and doesn't even mention direct primary care.

You can't write about non-insurance-based health care and leave out the thousands of doctors/clinics who have switched from insurance-based care to direct primary care, allowing them to provide higher quality care at a LOWER cost to tens/hundreds of thousands of patients.

So yes, it is often cheaper to pay for medical care without health insutance.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/cheaper-pay-medical-care-health-insurance-rcna239377

10/20/2025

🎧 Think with Krys Boyd nails it again as she interviews Dhruv Khullar, a doctor who wrote a New Yorker piece called “If AI Can Diagnose Better Than Doctors, Then What Are Doctors For?” and it’s SO good.

One thing they talk about is why there are so many misdiagnoses in medicine — and it really hit home.

In the insurance world, doctors basically get paid for having a diagnosis… not for not having one. So even if you don’t know exactly what’s going on, you have to pick something — because “no diagnosis” doesn’t get reimbursed.

Example:
Someone goes to the ER with chest pain. The team rules out all the deadly stuff — heart attack, pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, pneumonia, etc. Once those are ruled out, they have to call it something — maybe “acid reflux” or “esophageal spasm.”

But sometimes, it’s really anxiety — like when a patient comes in with chest pain and is worried because his dad had a heart attack at the same age and he’s terrified it’s happening to him too. The pain is real, but the cause is emotional, not physical.

💭 There’s no easy diagnosis for that.
And in the insurance system, if you don’t slap on a label, you don’t get paid.

That’s what's great about Direct Primary Care — you can tell the truth. You can say,

“Chest pain likely related to anxiety about family history.”
and just take the time to talk it through.

Medicine isn’t black and white. A lot of it lives in the gray — and that’s okay.

❤️ So if you’ve ever had a diagnosis that didn’t really fit… find someone who takes the time to listen.
Find a DPC doctor.

Send a message to learn more

09/20/2025

Thank you to Nico for testing out our new (used) baby pulse oximeter today!

08/31/2025

Tonight, Dr. Toli will be speaking at the North Texas Overdose Awareness Day 2025, a powerful event dedicated to remembering those we’ve lost, supporting those in recovery, and raising awareness about the ongoing impact of in our community.

🗓 August 31
🕕 6:30 PM
📍 Lawn of the Denton Courthouse on the Square | 110 W. Hickory St., Denton, TX

If you're in the area, please join us - your presence matters!

Additional details can be found here:

Free family event to unite and educate the community about substance use disorder and overdose prevention. Speakers, resource tables, memorial ceremony, food, music, and give aways.

08/26/2025

We had a wonderful time at Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep’s 2025 Draft Day at Casa Mañana, where we met our new student intern through their Corporate Work-Study Program. We’re excited to welcome them to the Mila Family Health team and support their growth in the healthcare field!

A big thank you to Cristo Rey Fort Worth for creating these opportunities that make a real difference for students and our community.

08/12/2025

🚨 The All-or-Nothing Trap in Medicine 🚨

🎙 The NPR THINK podcast nailed this recently in their episode on benzodiazepine use.

💊 Benzodiazepines – medicines like Xanax, Klonopin, and others – can be dangerous.

But they can also be super helpful.

⚠ Why they can be dangerous:
- Addictive potential
- Risk of respiratory suppression
- Withdrawal can be life-threatening

💡 Why they can be helpful:
- Rapid relief of panic and anxiety
- Can help with sleep when needed

🤔 So… should they be used or not?

If you thought there was an answer to that, you might be falling into the same all-or-nothing trap we see too often in healthcare.

The real answer? It depends.
It should be individualized and personalized.

🩺 Find a who can give you the time and attention you deserve to figure out the best treatment for YOU.



Check out the episode and story below:

Jennifer Senior, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss sleep anxiety, why we find it so hard to get a good night’s rest.

06/27/2025

We had a great time helping 41 students at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep make sure they were sports-ready this coming season. Thank you Nurse Ana, Athletic Director Michael, Dr. Yared, and Assistants Teresa and Cathy for helping make this possible!

02/10/2025

Here is a general framework for how to know which moles you should ask your doctor about.