Consumer Health News

Concierge medicine presenting a smarter allocation of healthcare money for families

By April MacIntyre Aug 6, 2012, 23:26 GMT

The Los Angeles Times reports that concierge medicine has swelled in ranks to 5,000 physicians nationwide. This trend is growing quickly across the whole of the USA.

Healthcare in the USA is a Byzantine affair, with so many options, scenarios and issues, it's a contentious problem that politicians even wade into with great care.

Many average families only know of concierge medicine as a perk for rich people, who can pay cash and skip wait times, even having a medic on call.

Not anymore, as doctors all over the country have seen their practices' profitability shrink, and costs of just becoming a doctor skyrocket.

Today physicians are finding that the return on their medical school investment of money and time is not worth the exceedingly long hours and less time with patients, and are turning to a variety of concierge medicine structured plans that alleviate their problems, and winnow their patient loads down to a manageable practice.

For the new players like SignatureMD (www.signatureMD.com) their contracted doctors offer their existing patients a tiered plan for an annual fee that gives them more time and attention, eliminating long waits. 

SignatureMD also helps doctors retain those who do not wish to participate with the restructuring of the office by hiring nurse practitioners who can see those patients with minor issues, and who are not in the concierge plan. 

The executive physical exam for each family member is valued at over $1000 alone, and comes with the premium paid for the concierge care.  Many families opt for this time saving plan and increase their deductible on existing health insurance plans to get the best of both worlds.

The Los Angeles Times reports that concierge medicine has swelled in ranks to 5,000 physicians nationwide. This trend is growing quickly across the whole of the USA.

The Times interviewed Matt Jacobson, founder of SignatureMD, who courts doctors who do not want to continue "production line, seven-minute visit medicine."

He tells the Times: "Some people view going to a private school as the most important thing," he said. "This is the same thing. Some people view healthcare as very important. They are going to cut their cable bill to see the exact doctor they want."

Most SignatureMD doctors continue to take insurance, yet increasingly more and more doctors are also just accepting cash payments and slashing down their fees to help those who have no insurance at all.

The LATimes.com reports that Concierge doctors often provide a comprehensive physical and extra screenings, as well as helping coordinate their patients' care with specialists or when they go to the hospital. Their model sees patients paying an annual fee of from $1,500 to $2,500 for round-the-clock access to the doctor and on-time appointments for that day or the next.