Medicare crisis tackled by SignatureMD for average consumers

By April MacIntyre Dec 7, 2011, 22:10 GMT

American company SignatureMD is among the handful of private enterprises successfully bringing solutions to average families for the health care crisis – without government involvement.

American company SignatureMD is among the handful of private enterprises successfully bringing solutions to average families for the health care crisis – without government involvement.

In 30 days Medicare cuts to doctor payments are scheduled to be slashed by a drastic 27.4%. Already operating on the thinnest of profit margins, most primary-care doctors in private practices – the typical family doctor – are trembling over the prospect of losing up to 50% or more of their income as a result.

Most will bleed red; many will go bankrupt. This AP article from earlier in the week underscored how many doctors are planning exit strategies from their businesses now, whether or not the cuts actually are made. In other words, they’re sick and tired of the whole system and want out sooner rather than later:

Concierge medicine doctors have bled into the average consumer's world. SignatureMD has increasingly converted existing doctors' practices for their middle-class patients in affordable plans that utilize existing insurance benefits with additional access and wellness preventative care.

In fact, concierge practices increased in number by 500% over the last five years. Since concierge physicians don't rely on the vagaries of government or private insurer payments, their revenues are stable and accountable. What's more, they can forgo the crippling costs of insurance-claim processing. (According to a study published in Health Affairs in August, the average physician in the United States spends $82,975 per year to process insurance claims, coverage and billing, and that a physician's staff spends 20.6 hours per physician per week interacting with health plans.)

What’s fueling the trend? Affordability. A middle-class household typically spends more on cable TV than the average concierge medicine retainer. Indeed, today the average family of four frequently can actually save money on their health care by tweaking their current health insurance deductible and using the savings to pay for concierge medicine.  Patients love the array of services provided, including 24/7 telephonic access to doctors, no-wait appointments, VIP executive-style physicals, comprehensive wellness plans updated throughout the year, and the latest in no-pain diagnostic equipment. Doctors love the fact that they can afford to spend as much as time as they need to with their patients with no government agency or corporation dictating patient loads and schedules.

SignatureMD has a unique perspective on the future of concierge medicine and how it fits into the current healthcare landscape, and created an infographic to outline the issue here.