Concierge Medicine

[Anonymous]

My physician recently started subscribing to Privia Health. It requires a monthly retainer fee as well as a lot of moving pieces that are of concern.

Can anyone share their experiences?

THANKS!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a rip-off; this is from their website:

"Your physician and other healthcare providers will continue to bill you and/or your insurance or Medicare for any covered professional services they provide you, including any insurance or Medicare covered portions of your Prevention & Wellness Physical, and you remain responsible for any applicable co-pays, deductibles, or co-insurance."

So, in addition to a membership fee, you still get nickel-and-dimed for every incidental fee they can possibly charge. On top of what you pay them, they are trying to bill Medicare and private insurance on top of it. Medicare now covers the "executive annual physical" these places brag about (and charge a premium for). Just wait for Medicare to stop reimbursing these docs and watch the fees go up even more.

These docs/companies that do this "money grab" to chase revenue from whatever angle they possibly can just have bad financial management - MDVIP is the same way. I have a friend in Florida whose doc started doing part time concierge medicine with a company called Concierge Choice Physicians ... same thing with convoluted billing except the docs only have a handful of patients on the new plan, the rest are "flying coach." My friend's concern was, hey wait, so if you're one of the "elite" members paying more money, you get priority over other patients, right? So, when one of the steerage passengers has a heart attack or other emergency but the doc gets a call from one of the concierge clients, who is served first? These hybrid practices are morally reprehensible- how do you choose between what someone paid for and what someone else needs? It's just not fair or ethical- has to be all or nothing.

After all that, my friend, who was turned on to the idea of concierge medicine, got a direct mail piece about another local doctor converting with Direct Care Group. He's probably going to sign up because it's one annual fee and that's it. All-you-can-eat service with no extra fees. Plus, they don't bother with insurance and you get wellness/nutrition and a bunch of other stuff. I'd do it too- who wants to pull out a credit card every time they go to the doc or count how many visits are included... too bad they don't have a doc near me.

[Anonymous]

There was a really interesting article about this trend in the Washingtonian a year or so ago. I remember being mildly interested at the time - one of my sons has moderate asthma and I could see how having one doc who knows him really well for all his care could work out well for him.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/health/14750.html

[Anonymous]

I think this sort of medicine is the wave of the future and I completely understand. Doctor's need to make money and this is an avenue that makes sense with all the changes Obama wants. You can't try to shove all these people into the system without it affect care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a really interesting article about this trend in the Washingtonian a year or so ago. I remember being mildly interested at the time - one of my sons has moderate asthma and I could see how having one doc who knows him really well for all his care could work out well for him.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/health/14750.html

Looks like a Puff Piece for PartnerMD - another outfit in the "nickel-and-dime" crowd. What good is it to pay an annual retainer fee but still have to deal with the headaches of a-la-carte billing through insurance? I would hate to get an annual bill in the mail and then still have to pay more every time I go in... would lead me to go less.

"PartnerMD patients pay $1,900 a year in membership fees, with a $1,500 charge for spouses and $600 per child. Otherwise, the company’s practices operate very much like traditional fee-for-service doctors, negotiating rates with insurance companies and charging patients accordingly. Membership includes an annual physical, but patients still pay deductibles and copays."

This is NOT innovation, it's just another way to wring out more dollars from patients AND prop up the bloated, inefficient insurance system (which Obama thinks is against his socialist ideals and others see as harmful, over-sized big business). Overhaul the billing, cut out medicare/insurance/visit fees and maybe you're on to something. There has to be someone out there that does that.

[Anonymous]

OP is your physician at VMA? Mine recently did this as well....

[Anonymous]

The good thing about Privia is that it is completely optional and you can cancel your membership if you find it isn't worthwhile or worth the money.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yes, VMA. It is very uncharacteristic.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the concept and I'm finding a new doctor. I don't' think it is right to offer higher quality health care to only people who can afford it. Over time she will begin to see more and more of these patients and her other patients will be pushed on to someone else in the practice.

[Anonymous]

Would you share some names of Dr's you are thinking of switching to.

[Anonymous]

Would anyone else like to opine?

[Anonymous]

?

[Anonymous]

Why shouldn't a doctor offer higher quality care to someone who pays for it? What did you think was going to happen when Obamacare got into the system. Please don't go on and on about the hippocratic oath. Doctors need to get paid for their services and more and more are being squeezed. This is a way for them to even the playing field.

[Anonymous]

My Dr. does not get paid any more or less since Obamacare. Even if I was able to pay a dr. a retainer fee. it is simply not a good idea to have one person overseeing your medical decisions. Concierge medicine is managed care wrapped up in a big bow. It waters down an individual's access to diversified opinions. It uses physician extenders (a "Mayo Clinic" nurse to ask questions to). I can't see how the dr. makes more money (the goal) and I don't see the patient getting better care. No one wins. The jury is out.

[Anonymous]

You doc is now forced to take in more clients because he is getting less reimbursment from insurance. Insurance is on the way to having to cover all sorts of things they didn't before because they have to make up the delta from more and more people on medicaid/care. It's a cycle and docs are trying to find ways to make it work for them. I totally understand and do not begrudge them. Thank god at least some of Obamacare has been stopped or the present situation would be worse.