Zion Asher Family Physicians, Inc.

05/06/2026

This is exactly where delays in care can matter most.

In Direct Primary Care, we often have the ability to bypass prior authorization delays and help patients access imaging like MRIs at transparent cash prices and can get the imaging same or next day if medically indicated.

That can mean faster answers, earlier diagnosis, and clearer next steps; without weeks of waiting or having to play by the insurance companies rules.

It’s not the right approach in every case, but having that option can make a real difference when time matters.

When the relationship is Directly between the doctor and the patient; we work for you not the insurance company.

A 47 year old woman asked for an MRI. By the time her insurance company let her have one, she had a sarcoma in her hip, and it was too late to save her leg.

Her doctor had already done the X-ray. He had already examined her. He had already sent her for physical therapy, the six weeks the insurance company's own published criteria said she needed to do before an MRI was on the table. There was no improvement. He told her she needed the scan.

The insurance company said it was not medically necessary, until she finished six weeks of physical therapy. She had finished it. They had paid for it. He appealed.

It took 38 days for the insurance company to reverse itself.

When she finally got the MRI, the cancer was already advanced. The doctors at the hospital told her that if she had come a month sooner, they could have treated it with chemotherapy alone. Instead, they amputated her leg, her hip, and her pelvis. She died two years later.

Her family sued. The federal judge who heard the case called it tragic, then threw it out, because no law in New York holds an insurance company accountable when it gives medical advice that turns out to be wrong. Doctors are accountable. Nurses are accountable. Hospitals are accountable. Insurance companies are not.

By law, the person reviewing a prior authorization denial is supposed to be a doctor in the relevant specialty. The federal inspector general found that very often, they are not. A pediatrician can deny a radiology request. A reviewer with no oncology background can decide a hip MRI is not medically necessary. The criteria the insurer publishes are not always the criteria the insurer follows.

Attorney Steve Cohen argued this case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The American Medical Association, the New York State medical society, and the Vermont and Connecticut medical societies all filed friend of the court briefs supporting the family. The argument was simple. If you give medical advice, you are accountable for it.

This is not just a story about one woman. The American Medical Association has surveyed physicians for years. The overwhelming majority say prior authorization has caused real harm to their patients. Many spend 10, 15, 20 hours a week of staff time chasing approvals and appealing denials.

Send this to anyone who has ever been told no by their insurance company and wondered who actually decided.

Listen to the full conversation on The Podcast by KevinMD. Link in the comments.

What is the worst insurance denial you or someone you love has ever lived through?

05/04/2026

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧.

Moving from low to moderate fitness is associated with a 𝟒𝟎–𝟓𝟎% 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. (Moderate → high fitness = additional ~20–30% reduction)

What does that actually mean?
Low fitness = getting winded with stairs, can’t jog a mile, minimal strength.
Moderate fitness = can walk/jog 1–2 miles and handle basic strength (carry, lift, get off the floor easily).

For perspective, many medications used for metabolic conditions (stains, blood pressure medication, diabetes medication, GLP-1s, ect.) typically show **~10–25% reductions** while you’re taking them.

But the foundation is still the same:
➡️ Build cardiovascular fitness
➡️ Maintain muscle
➡️ Move your body with intention

𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒔.
𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍.

05/03/2026

Yes! This is exactly how DPC saves you money EVEN if you have insurance.
We had a patient who's copay for an MRI would have been $900 and we were able to get her the MRI for $550.

05/01/2026

🏃‍♀️ 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

This isn’t your typical exam room setup. Today we performed functional return-to-play testing for an athlete recovering from injury.

Getting cleared to play isn’t just about “𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳” or being pain-free. It’s about making sure 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡, 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 are fully restored.

𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚:
Athletes who return to sport before these are back to normal can have a 𝟐–𝟒𝐱 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞-𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐲 and sometimes the second injury is even more serious than the first.

That’s why we take the extra step to assess how the body is actually performing; not just how it feels.

Caring for athletes is something we truly enjoy, and it helps that both Dr. Lauren and Dr. Lyman have personal backgrounds in sports, with Dr. Lauren also having training as a collegiate athlete and athletic trainer. That perspective brings an added layer of understanding when guiding athletes back to play.

At Zion Asher Family Physicians, we’re proud to support our student athletes through every step of recovery and help them return to play safely, confidently, and fully ready.

05/01/2026

𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 $𝟏𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎, $𝟐𝟒,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞?

That number isn’t hypothetical. It’s a 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 estimate of what many small businesses could save by switching to Zion Asher + a health sharing network for their employees.

With health sharing, your team still has protection for the unpredictable—ER visits, accidents, and planned or urgent surgeries.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞:
Your employees get same-day appointments that actually start on time.
Your employees won't lose half a workday sitting in a waiting room.
Your employees can text their doctor for minor issues instead of putting things off.
Your employees can call on a Saturday if they get sick, start treatment early, and be back at work Monday; without missing another day just to be seen.

Don’t get us wrong; coverage for major, life-altering events matters.
But for the everyday care your employees actually use? There’s a better way.

This isn’t about cutting healthcare; it’s about making it work smarter:
Better access. Less downtime. Healthier, more productive employees.

If you’re curious what this could look like for your business, let’s talk.

04/27/2026

🌟 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 🌟

🚫 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭.

On social media and even in everyday life, we often see the polished version of someone else’s journey — the wins, the milestones, the curated smiles. What we don’t see are the sleepless nights, the doubts, or the setbacks that got them there.

✨ Comparison steals joy. It distracts you from your own growth and convinces you that you’re “behind,” when in reality you’re exactly where you need to be.

Instead of looking sideways at someone else’s path, focus forward on your own. Healing, growth, success — these are not competitions. They are deeply personal journeys.

🧹 Try a Comparison Detox this week:
📵 Take a 24-hour break from social media.
📝 Write down 3 things you’re grateful for today.
👏 Celebrate one small win (even if no one else notices).
🤝 Reach out to someone who encourages you instead of drains you.

💙 Your worth is not defined by how you measure up to someone else’s story. It’s built day by day, by showing up for your own.

04/27/2026

You don’t have to live in the gym to improve your health.

There’s something called 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐓 (𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬).
It’s the calories you burn doing everyday things: walking, cleaning, yard work… even pulling weeds.

𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒅𝒅s 𝒖𝒑.
➡️ Park farther away at the store
➡️ Take the stairs
➡️ Walk while on the phone
➡️ Do your own yard work (yes, even with a hand Grass whip 😄)

These little choices can quietly put you into a calorie deficit over time, without extreme dieting.

It’s not flashy.
But it works.

𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.

04/18/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐤? 👶
We looked at our actual patient data; here is how often young kids come in for sick visits.

🏥 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
Based on real visit frequency:
👉 Over a year of co-pays:
$𝟔𝟕𝟓 𝐭𝐨 $𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎+ 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭

❤️ 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝑷𝑪
One flat monthly fee
Same-day visits included
After-hour access by phone for urgent needs
No copays, no surprise bills
👉 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 $𝟒𝟔𝟖-𝟓𝟖𝟖/𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫

💡 The Difference
When care is easy to access, parents come in when they should; not when they’re forced to wait.
We’re not guessing on these numbers; they’re based on how often families actually need care.

Insurance still plays an important role for major events like emergencies, surgeries, and high-cost medical conditions (ie. cancer).

DPC is designed to make the day-to-day, expected healthcare simple, accessible, and affordable.

04/15/2026

Realistic Weight Loss Expectations

One of the biggest misconceptions I see right now is the expectation that medications like Wegovy®, Zepbound®, or Mounjaro® will cause rapid weight loss right away.

The reality is much more modest.

In the clinical trial data, average weight loss with these medications works out to roughly 1.5–2.5 pounds per month over time. That may not sound dramatic, but that steady pace is actually what sustainable weight loss looks like.

In other words, if you are losing 1–2 pounds per month without a pharmaceutical, you are doing just as well as many people using these medications.

As a physician, my best advice when it comes to weight loss is this:

Whatever you do to lose weight needs to be something you can maintain for the rest of your life.

Because eventually something will change.
Insurance stops covering a medication.
The drug becomes hard to find.
Life circumstances shift.

If the only thing maintaining the weight loss was a medication or an extreme diet, the weight often comes back once that support is removed.

The same thing happens with overly restrictive diets. If the plan requires constant calorie restriction, extreme rules, or a way of eating you can’t realistically maintain long-term, it usually leads to rebound weight gain.

Sustainable weight loss tends to come from:

• supporting overall health
• stabilizing hunger and metabolism
• improving nutrition habits
• building movement back into life
• creating routines that are realistic long-term

And sometimes medications can absolutely be a helpful tool in that process.

At Zion Asher, we do prescribe weight-loss medications when appropriate. But we also spend a lot of time helping patients build sustainable lifestyle strategies so that the results actually last.

If you want help creating a personalized and sustainable plan, we’re always happy to help.

04/09/2026

🎉 Guess what's coming? 🎉

This Monday we’re celebrating a very special birthday… our own Dr. Lauren! 🥳

She might not have approved this post 😄 but we couldn’t let the day go by without showing a little appreciation for all the care, compassion, and dedication she gives to our patients every single day.

If you see her this week, feel free to wish her a happy birthday!

💙 Help us celebrate by dropping your birthday wishes in the comments🎈

04/08/2026

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐬 – 𝐀 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most researched dietary supplements available today. Your body naturally makes about 1 gram per day, and you get more from red meat and seafood. But supplementing raises muscle creatine stores by 20–40%, giving your cells extra phosphocreatine to rapidly regenerate ATP; the quick energy fuel for high-intensity efforts like lifting, sprinting, or HIIT.
Recent 2024–2025 systematic reviews and meta-analyses confirm what athletes have known for years, and extend the benefits far beyond the gym:

- 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 & 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴: When paired with resistance training, creatine significantly boosts upper- and lower-body strength (e.g., bench press +1.4 kg, squat +5.6 kg on average) and increases fat-free mass by ~1.1–1.4 kg. Benefits appear in both trained and untrained adults, with older adults seeing meaningful improvements in functional performance and body composition.
- 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 & 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵: Creatine improves memory, attention, and processing speed in adults. Subgroup analyses show stronger effects in women, people aged 18–60, and those with certain health conditions.
- 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯: Research highlights benefits for strength and performance in pre-menopausal women, plus potential support for muscle, bone, mood, and brain energy during perimenopause and post-menopause.

Creatine works best alongside consistent training, protein-rich nutrition, and good sleep; it’s not magic, but it can help you train harder, recover better, and feel sharper.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: This post is for educational and informational purposes only. This is not medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider before starting creatine or any new supplement, especially if you have pre-existing medical conditions. Individual results may vary.
𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙕𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩!