Private Practice
Sleepspan, PLLC is a cash-pay medical practice for adults who want to work directly with David Benavides, M.D. Enrollment is limited: this is an intentionally select and limited panel, and new patients are accepted only if space is available. For this practice, no insurance is accepted or billed. All care is by secure video.
Sleepspan takes a lifestyle medicine approach to sleep: evaluation, a written plan, and follow-up on sleep timing, light, activity, and habits. Care focuses on non-medication treatment wherever that is appropriate. Medications are used when they are the right choice, never as the default. Controlled substances are not an expected part of care (see "What this is not" below).
Who this is for
Adults (18 and older) who are physically in Florida at the time of every visit. Sleepspan sees patients only while they are physically in Florida. Tell us at every visit which state you are in. If you are in any other state on the day of a visit, we cannot see you that day. Patients located in Michigan may be considered once Sleepspan's Michigan registration is complete. Patients located in Massachusetts are not accepted at this time.
The practice keeps a select panel by design. Enrollment is limited, and a place is offered only if space is available. Each intake is reviewed to decide whether Sleepspan is appropriate for the person's needs and whether there is room on the panel. Meeting the requirements on this page does not guarantee acceptance.
What a consultation includes
A consultation is a secure video visit with Dr. Benavides to evaluate your sleep concerns and agree on a written plan. Your care may include Sleepspan's CircAlign sleep-timing assessment (a questionnaire and a review of sleep data from your own wearable or phone, with a written plan and an optional companion app). It is part of the consultation. Using it does not involve any other clinic.
What this is not
- Not emergency care. If you think you are having an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
- Not continuous monitoring. We do not watch your health or your devices between visits. Please do not use email or messages for urgent problems. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, contact your primary care clinician or an urgent care center. Sleepspan cannot provide urgent care.
- Not after-hours care. Nobody is on call nights, weekends, or holidays. Messages and voicemail are read during business hours only (Monday to Friday, except federal holidays). Replies are not immediate. In an emergency do not wait for a reply: call 911. If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988.
- Not primary care. We do not replace your primary care clinician. Please keep one.
- Controlled substances are not the focus. Controlled substances are not the focus of this practice and are not an expected part of care. In limited cases, at his judgment, Dr. Benavides may prescribe a Schedule III to V medicine after a video visit and a check of the state prescription database. Schedule II medicines, such as stimulants, cannot be prescribed by telehealth under Florida law. If you need ongoing controlled medication, we will refer you to in-person care. No prescription is ever guaranteed. Controlled substances are not prescribed to patients located in Michigan at this time.
How payment works
This is a self-pay practice. For this practice, Sleepspan does not submit claims, prepare superbills, or provide receipts for insurance submission. On request, we give you an itemized receipt for your own records. It states "not for insurance submission."
Good Faith Estimate
Under federal law, self-pay patients have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges, and the law sets the latest dates by which it must be sent. Our timeframes below meet or beat those dates.
We give you a written Good Faith Estimate within 1 business day after your visit is scheduled (at scheduling if the visit is less than 2 business days away). You may ask for one at any time, including before you schedule, and we send it within 3 business days of your request. Sleepspan does not have a standing discount, payment-plan or financial assistance program.
Fees
Sleepspan is a self-pay practice with flat fees per visit. We do not publish a price list. Before anything is scheduled you receive the exact fee for your visit in writing, and your Good Faith Estimate states it again. Nothing is charged until you have been accepted as a patient in writing.
Related services that may be needed in individual cases, such as a home sleep test, laboratory tests, equipment or medications, are charged separately by the outside provider and are not Sleepspan fees. Reviewing a home sleep test or lab result that we order is included in your follow-up visit fee.
Each visit fee is charged to the card you keep on file before the visit. We accept credit and debit cards, including HSA and FSA cards, and add no surcharge. Cancel 24 hours or more before the visit and the full fee is refunded; a cancellation with less notice or a missed visit carries a fee stated in your Good Faith Estimate. Refunds go back to the original payment method within 5 business days. A visit that cannot be held because you are not physically in Florida is rescheduled at no charge. Fees may change, but the fee shown in your Good Faith Estimate is the fee you pay for that visit.
Insurance is not accepted
This practice is cash pay only. Sleepspan does not accept or bill any insurance plan or government health program for the care described on this page. Some kinds of coverage, described below, mean we cannot see you at all, even if you offer to pay yourself.
This practice does not see patients covered by Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, QMB or a Medicare Savings Program, or both Medicare and Medicaid, because Dr. Benavides is a participating Medicare physician and federal rules do not allow private payment for covered services. There are no exceptions.
Sleepspan is not enrolled with Michigan Medicaid and does not accept Michigan Medicaid beneficiaries as patients. If you have Michigan Medicaid, we will not schedule you and will not charge you.
If you have TRICARE, CHAMPVA, VA health care, Indian Health Service or another government health program, or you are not sure about your coverage, tell us on the intake form. We will review your situation individually before any visit is scheduled or any fee is charged, and tell you our decision in writing. If you intend to seek reimbursement from any plan or program for this care, tell us before scheduling; at present we do not accept patients who plan to submit this care to a plan or program.
If your plan is Aetna or UnitedHealthcare, contact us before scheduling; Sleepspan has contracts with those plans for other work, and we will tell you whether we can see you on a self-pay basis.
How care begins
There is no online booking. To start, email hello@sleepspanhealth.com with your name and how to reach you (no health details), or call. A team member will add you to our secure patient portal.
- You complete a privacy notice acknowledgment and an intake form about your health coverage and where you will be during visits. We take no card, no payment, and no booking at this stage.
- Your intake is reviewed to decide whether this practice is appropriate for your needs and whether there is room on the panel.
- You receive a written acceptance letter, or a letter saying we cannot accept you.
- After acceptance, you complete the consent, financial policy, service agreement, fee schedule, and health history forms, and put a card on file.
- A team member schedules your first visit with you. New patients cannot schedule themselves.
- We send your Good Faith Estimate within 1 business day of scheduling (at scheduling if the visit is less than 2 business days away).
- Your fee is charged before the visit.
You are not a patient of the practice until you receive written acceptance. We charge no fee before acceptance.
Your physician
David Benavides, M.D., is a sleep medicine physician. He completed fellowship training in sleep medicine at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School, where he is on the faculty. He is also a diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (see note). Licensed in Florida (ME172062), Massachusetts and Michigan. Massachusetts medical license 1019481. Michigan medical license 4301513282.
Note on the lifestyle medicine credential: The specialty recognition identified herein has been received from a private organization not affiliated with or recognized by the Florida Board of Medicine.
Contact us
Phone: (305) 330-2807
Email: hello@sleepspanhealth.com
Business hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday, except federal holidays
Patient portal (sign-in only, for people our team has already added; no sign-up or booking): Sign in to the Sleepspan patient portal
Mailing address: Sleepspan, PLLC, 7901 4th St N, Ste 300, St. Petersburg, FL 33702 (mailing address) (mail only; no patients are seen at this address)
Nondiscrimination, interpreter, and concerns
Sleepspan does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
Dr. Benavides provides care in English, Spanish and Italian. If you need another language or sign-language support, tell us before scheduling and we will arrange it at no charge to you. Video relay, captioning, and other aids for people with disabilities are arranged on request at no charge.
Concerns or complaints: tell us by portal message, phone, email, or mail. A team member will confirm that we received it, and you will receive a written answer. You may also contact the Florida Department of Health; the Patient's Bill of Rights summary below lists the contacts.