+1That's the story which has yet to be told. Patient compliance and interest in these "concierge benefits" will probably wane, IMHO. Prior patients will drift off to other PCPs and will be reluctant to go back to their original doctor in some cases.
Some doctors will make it and some won't. By then Obamacare will have converted large numbers of previously uninsured patients to insured ones. This is a delicate situation which I am glad I am watching from the sidelines.
When asked, I usually advise staying with the original PCP for about a year and see if you are getting your $2,000 worth. There are a lot of moving parts here.
When in private practice decades ago, it evolved in to a concierge-like practice due to a wealthy demographic. I was much happier with my subsequent university teaching practice: diverse, Joe six-pack followed by rocket science types, lots of fun and great quality of care.
We always try go straight to a specialist -- if we're forced to see a GP it ends up being a waste of time as they will just refer us to the specialist that we knew we needed to see anyway.
I go to a concierge physician because of lots of the reasons mentioned above. The main reason though is that he is focused on prevention, and not just diagnose and treat, disease management.
I checked the Medicare database and a local group of concierge doctors have considerable Medicare billing. It appears that as long as they take Medicare assignment for any treatment or procedure they are free to charge a membership fee.Does a doctor need to abandon Medicare if he charges a concierge fee?
Ha
I checked the Medicare database and a local group of concierge doctors have considerable Medicare billing. It appears that as long as they take Medicare assignment for any treatment or procedure they are free to charge a membership fee.
Concierge Medicine: Key Legal Considerations
Complying with Medicare Regulations, Insurance Laws and the Anti-Kickback Statute
Texas Health Law Conference. October 15, 2012