What is your opinion on "concierge medicine?"

[davidn3600]

This is when a doctor requires a "retainer" fee upfront each year in addition to any insurance. In return the doctor claims to take less patients and give more personalized care. Of course the downside is many people can't afford the fee. So while the rich can pay for their own doctors (good doctors) the same way they hire their own lawyers (good lawyers), the poor will have to wait in long lines.

[YarnAddict]

1. My understanding of it is

that the docs don't take insurance, so their overhead is much lower. what I heard, you pay $25/month, and then an office visit is $10/visit. This sounds like a really good deal. Of course, you do still need to have insurance to cover hospitalization.

That low cost does not mean that only the rich will have it. It would be very affordable for a middle class family.

[Sheldon Cooper]

2. Your figures seem impossibly low.

Can you cite a source for them?

[Mosby]

15. I lost a great GP because he went to a concierge care model

He wanted $1800 per year.

I haven't been able to find a good one since then so now I mostly go to specialists.

[spanone]

3. not so. they take insurance and their fees are pretty much the same as other docs.

[pnwmom]

27. That depends on how the doctors set it up. Some do, some don't. n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. My doctor tried to go that route, and failed.

He could not get enough subscribers. He needed 600 patients to make it happen. There was a massive sales blitz by the staff of company that administers the program, I forget their name, something "MD", but they are an arm of Proctor and Gamble.

The cost to me would have been $1650 a year, ($3300, including my wife), and we could not afford that.

I think the world of this guy and I'm happy he will remain my PC physician.

The concept may good, but it's a program for the wealthy. Some programs run as high a $10,000 a year, according to the sales person, depending on geographical location and what is included.

[Sheldon Cooper]

12. Wow - that would have been $990,000/year for your doctor.

Your figures are closer to what I had heard about costs for concierge doctors.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Nice gig, eh?

Less workload and still a very hefty guaranteed income.

My doctor is a wonderful guy and I'm sure he's currently being run ragged, so this new plan had to look good to him. His patients simply couldn't or didn't want to spend that kind of money every year.

There was no privision for a family/multiple membership discount, either, which didn't help.

[Sheldon Cooper]

16. Also, I'm sure the rate didn't include any hosptitalization costs, either.

Maybe if you could afford his rates you could probably afford hospitalization as well?

[TheCowsCameHome]

21. No, the $1650 was just to belong to his group.

Everything else was pretty much the same as before.

The only difference was less waiting room time, and more "personalized" care.

[Ian David]

5. My doctor offers concierge service for free.

He's happy to book me a table at the hospital cafeteria.

[Sheldon Cooper]

13. lol

[bemildred]

6. I think we need universal, free, tax-funded public health care, now.

What the rich do to amuse themselves with their extra money after that is their business.

[marions ghost]

7. Grotesque

I come from a family of doctors. This goes against all they ever stood or stand for.

[FSogol]

8. Fuck em. Those are doctors that only want rich healthy clients. n/t

[SoCalDem]

9. The rich have always had concierge medicine..

Once upon a time, even MY family had it.. Our next door neighbor was a surgeon and also our family doctor.. Many times, John (in a bathing suit) treated one of our kids ...poolside
Marianne (his wife) was an ER nurse before their 5 kids, so she bandaged a few booboos too

[Nye Bevan]

10. It's good for people who are happy to spend money in exchange for more attention from their doctor.

You get the doctor's cell number and can call anytime with your concerns. Also longer appointments and you can be seen at shorter notice. If this is how someone wants to spend their money (and it's cheaper than a daily Starbucks) that's fine with me.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. I never heard of it before. Where is this happening?

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. I think it's an excellent example of exactly what's wrong with the American healthcare system

profit-driven, and hugely dysfunctional.

[Revanchist]

18. It's not just an "American" idea

Even in countries that have universal health care like England also have private doctors and hospitals for those who do not want to deal with the wait that happens with universal health care. Heck, you can find articles about Canadians coming to America for treatment instead of waiting. I do not disparage anyone who want to get care immediately for themselves or a sick loved one, especially if they are in pain.

[Spider Jerusalem]

20. The USA doesn't have universal healthcare.

And none of these doctors probably sees Medicaid patients.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. The comfort of the rich requires an abundant supply of the poor. Voltaire

[NCTraveler]

22. I have no problem with it under the current system.

The system needs to change. This thread is proof that the ACA solved no problems with respect to our health care system as a whole.

[reformist2]

23. It sounds like it's against the ethics of the medical profession.

Ideally, they're supposed to provide their services regardless of ability to pay. Reality, of course, allows that they charge for services. But charging for access, that crosses a huge ethical line.

[Buns_of_Fire]

25. A local clinic threatened me with that "access fee" BS a year or so ago.

Background: I hadn't been to a doctor -- or even an ER -- in about 15 years. But last year, I developed a rash that worried me (since diagnosed as shingles), so I called their office (they're the only clinic in My Little Town) to make an appointment, just to verify what I already suspected and maybe get a prescription for some cream or something.

Now, at the time, I had just cashed in my pension, so money was no problem, and I told the person on the phone that. I was told that it would cost $350 to "become" a patient -- if they chose to accept me.

IF they "accepted" me as a patient. So much for any Hippocratic Oath.

But I said, okay, fine, I'll pay it, can I make an appointment now? She said they'd get back to me. I never heard from them again.

I've since been told that they have a reputation for only catering to the moneyed set around here. Which is pretty damned inconvenient for the non-moneyed set (easily the vast majority of the population), most of whom can't -- or can't afford to -- drive over the mountain to get to the clinic in a nearby town.

A damn far cry from the local drug store, who'd even give my mother free medication to tide her over until her Social Security check came in and she could pay for it again...

[Aristus]

24. IMO, one of the reasons rich assholes oppose single-payer health care

is because their wealth and privilege make them feel exclusive, and that that exclusivity is their birthright.

If we had single-payer national health insurance, I wouldn't have a problem with concierge medical services. If the rich want gold-plated medical care so they can continue to feel privileged and exclusive, fine. But I want every American to be able to have good medical care without going bankrupt.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

26. In a country with decent health-care provision, it would be fine.

I think that a country where the state provides an acceptable level of healthcare to everyone, and people can choose to pay extra on top of that if they're not satisfied with it, is *better* than a country where the state provides an acceptable level of healthcare to everyone, and no-one is allowed to pay for any thing else.

The issue in the USA is that potentially more doctors doing this will make it even expensive for poor people to get health care.

[eridani]

29. ^^this^^

If we had single payer, no one would care about the rich buying extra bells and whistles. It would be like caring whether or not Bill Gates had an expensive alarm and sprinkler system that few could afford. As long as everyone gets the same fire engine in case of fire, no one would care.

[pnwmom]

28. I overheard a conversation between a nurse and a patient at a hospital in my area.

One of them was saying that her doctor had gone to this kind of practice and she was wishing he hadn't. The nurse said that almost all the "new doctors" are doing this now.

I don't blame them, really, for being frustrated with the demands being put on them to see another patient every 10 minutes. A conscientious doctor knows that that's not enough time for many patients.