Our long time GP now limiting his practice

[rodi]

Marco - your posts on this thread have raised my curiousity. You said you pay an annual amount. And you said the doctor doesn't bill insurance.

Do you submit bills to your insurance after the fact?
What happens if you need a procedure that can't be done in office?
Does the doctor right referrals if you need them? (And I assume any referred specialists would take insurance.)

I'm curious about this because I can see paying an annual fee if it covered my medical needs.... That's kind of what I do when I pay my insurance premiums.... but I'm not limited to just my doctor... I can use the ER or urgent care... I can get radiology (mammogram)... etc.

 

[Mulligan]

To me this sounds like a scam, a way to empty wallets of people with too much money.

I wont pay that is for sure. That would be $2k thrown down the drain. Its been years since I have been to a doctor. Last physical I got was a waste of time... I can do that by getting my BP checked for free giving blood and worthless cholesterol test for free at annual health fair. If John Adams can live to 90 with leaches and whiskey as medical treatment, so can I.


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[razztazz]

. If John Adams can live to 90 with leaches and whiskey as medical treatment, so can I.

Can I use this one?

 

[aja8888]

If John Adams can live to 90 with leaches and whiskey as medical treatment, so can I.


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Where are you getting your leaches and how are you preparing them? Fried? Broiled? Like raw oysters?

 

[Mulligan]

Where are you getting your leaches and how are you preparing them? Fried? Broiled? Like raw oysters?

Now, I shouldnt presume I can get better medical care from the internet today than from a 1790's physician, but I will assume that skipping the leaches and doubling down on the whiskey will provide the same medicinal benefits... Besides, I am indestructible. Based on various illnesses I have had over the past 15 years that the Internet said was cancer, my body has just cured itself without any medical treatment.


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[Mulligan]

Can I use this one?

Please do, Razz. Just don't sue me if it doesn't work!


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[FUEGO]

I'd pass on paying $2000 per year (presumably per person??) just to keep my GP (or any GP in general). Maybe if I was extremely sick and needed tons of attention and/or had a high deductible plan or huge co-payments for office visits. Otherwise, no way.

Visiting 1-2x per year for a physical and prescription renewal for $20-45 OOP gets the job done plus the occasional office visit for illness or an issue of some sort. We've been able to keep the same 2-3 GPs for the family including our kids. They take our ACA exchange policy no problem and they accept medicaid for our 4 year old.

I'm just amazed at all the layers of staff. Receptionists, schedulers, billing, finance, referral staff, lab clinicians, nurse/assistants. Poor doc only got $60 for the last office visit between me and the insurance company. Hard to pay a couple dozen overhead off of that tiny fee. My plumber makes 50% more than that for a service call.

 

[Pilot2013]

LOL!-

Could you give me a list of those? I'd consider moving to find "many" of those...

 

[marko]

Marco - your posts on this thread have raised my curiousity. You said you pay an annual amount. And you said the doctor doesn't bill insurance.

Do you submit bills to your insurance after the fact?
What happens if you need a procedure that can't be done in office?
Does the doctor right referrals if you need them? (And I assume any referred specialists would take insurance.)

I'm curious about this because I can see paying an annual fee if it covered my medical needs.... That's kind of what I do when I pay my insurance premiums.... but I'm not limited to just my doctor... I can use the ER or urgent care... I can get radiology (mammogram)... etc.

I pay $1200 a year. He does not bill insurance and all my visits to him are included in the fee along with blood tests, physicals etc. It is called the "Direct Care approach"

I do not/cannot submit his fee to insurance however there is national legislation in the works that will soon allow me to apply his fee to my HSA

I have a PPO so I don't need referrals for other doctor/hospital visits. When/if I do need to see another doctor/hospital, my insurance pays per usual. If I didn't have an PPO, I could sign up with another doctor for when I need referrals and still see my own doctor as I wish.

Nothing has changed in my insurance coverage except I pay my own doctor separately.

 

[doxiemama]

My example

My G.P. has this type of plan. I pay $125 per month = $1,500 per year. Unlimited visits. Lab bills are about 10% of the cost vs. when I had "regular" insurance. I use a Co-Op, Christian Healthcare Ministries for anything major. I pay $150 per month and have a $500 cost-share which works like a deductible. So for a total of $275 per month I have full coverage with a $500 cost share.

Prior to this I was paying $475 per month for a "Bronze" Kaiser plan with a $6,000 deductible. Got Bronchitis, went in and saw a Nurse Practitioner ($75.00 co-pay for the visit) and I needed cough syrup. N.P. insisted I use a breathing machine (abuteral nebulizer). While in the exam room by myself the rooms starts spinning around and I faint. Unconscious for 10 minutes. N.P. call the Paramedics and I am hospitalized for 6 hours. Walked out owing $6,000! Kaiser paid $15.00 of my hospital stay, I paid $6,000! All I needed was some darn cough syrup. The bronchitis cost a total of $5,700 for my annual Kaiser Premium + $6,000 hospital stay for 6 hours = $11,700 for the year. Did the bronchitis get treated? No!

My current "boutique" plan plus my Co-Op health care sharing = $3,300 per year a $8,400 savings! My doctor has treated Shingles, two more fainting episodes, thyroid problem and put me on a weight loss plan where I lost 15 pounds without really trying. This is so much better than the crummy Kaiser coverage with a $6,000 deductible! That consisted of one visit and they never even gave me the cough syrup I needed!

This is not the best option for everyone but it sure is the best option for me!