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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just found out that Potomac Physicians Associates will be dissolving their practice this summer and all of their doctors will be moving to various concierge health practices.  I now have to look for a new internist as I'm not interested in joining a pricey concierge group.  Does anyone know why they are dissolving?  [/quote]

This is a very misleading post.  For the majority of the patients (that is, those in the Chevy Chase office), the only change is a $200 annual fee ($50 the first year).  [/quote]

Not misleading. Half of the practice is remaining in Bethesda and not accepting any insurance for $1,800 a year (including my doctor) which is definitely concierge and the other half is charging $200 annually to be able to make appointments online which is crazy odd, with no guarantee that the new model will even be covered by most health insurance companies. [/quote]

I haven't looked at this change too closely since I have no need for concierge, but I didn't realize the new Bethesda location will not accept any insurance so that you only get out of network reimbursements. [/quote]

[b]I did call and the Bethesda location will take insurance. [/b]The fee is to pay for the added benefits, no wait, contact your dr anytime, and wellness program.

Before landing at PPA few years ago, I had bounced all over the place, after my GP at the time went concierge and I didn’t follow. The good ones don’t take new patients or also concierge. I found one that didn’t take insurance and I thought it was better than paying a large fee but I was wrong. I paid out of pocket but the waits were long and you could never see the physician. I switched to another one without insurance and although I could see him fast, I didn’t like him. I then went to medstar and when sick you couldn’t even see a PA. I’d always end up at urgent care. I called Hopkins a t executive blvd and none of the physicians were taking new patients. Then I switched to PPA and although not perfect, I really liked my Dr. I will be following her to the concierge model since I know I like her very much and can only think what she can do when handling only 300 patients.

This is a complex decision, I didn’t like my other dr who went concierge enough to follow him and since then I’ve realized that the state of primary care is precautious. They have to carry over 2k patients to make it work. Good GPS are rarely taking new patients. Others are either direct pay and you file out of network or have gone concierge. If you don’t go to the dr ever then it makes no sense to pay extra but if you need someone to help you manage chronic conditions then it may make sense. Don’t take me wrong, it’s a big financial commitment but I’ll treat it as part of my health insurance expenses.

I did wonder if I could switch to the one medical plan but just figured that switching to a new doc with many unknowns might not be feasible. Besides, I figured they’d give priority to their current patients anyway.

The communication I received indicated that they can refer you to other physicians in the area if you can’t join. [/quote]

Just to confirm that PPA said that the Bethesda office will continue to be In-Network for the insurance companies that they currently accept?  I've been hearing otherwise - that they can file with your insurance company but will be out of network.  There was no mention of any insurance at all in the literature that I got from my doctor.[/quote]

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