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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My mother recently changed to concierge. She likes her doctor. Andrea Hulse. Mom doesn't have a weight problem so can't speak to that.[/quote]

OP here. Thank you! I don't have a weight problem either. I've just noticed so many concierge docs have websites focused on weight loss. I don't need that and want someone more focused on my multi-systemic inflammatory problems. Or at least someone creative about chronic illnesses. [/quote]

The only reason you are seeing concierge websites that appear focused on weight management is because lots of regular (non concierge) providers won't prescribe weight loss meds because the administrative burden that comes along with writing scripts for GLP-1 meds is way too high. They spend hours and hours and hours dealing with insurance companies trying to get coverage, or, alternatively, too much time dealing with angry patients who don't understand why they don't have coverage and why the out-of-pocket cost of the meds is so high. Even when there is coverage, doctors often have to submit a lot of info on behalf of patients including what their weight loss is at certain points (insurance companies won't pay for expensive drugs if they aren't working, so they need proof of weight loss in the form of a certification from a doctor who is weighing the patient regularly). It's a big enough hassle involving so much unpaid admin labor that it can literally send a clinic into the red if lots of folks are on GLP1s. So at this point most traditional insurance-driven primary care practices are referring folks out to weigh loss specialists. Some patients then go to weight loss provider just for the weight management, but some decide to go looking for a new PCP. So at the moment, with the rise in GLP1 use, lots of folks are out there specifically looking for a concierge doctor because they aren't getting the weight management treatment they need from traditional PCPs.

I wouldn't let this turn you off from any concierge primary care practice that interests you. It doesn't mean they are specifically looking for patients who want to lose weight and that that is their focus. It's just the marketing that makes sense in this particular health care ecosystem moment. [/quote]

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