Apparently there’s this thing called “concierge medicine” or something like that. Basically, you pay your doctor a fixed fee each year, and in return they agree to only have X00 such patients and to take the fixed fee plus whatever the insurance on those X00 pays, but they won’t take additional patients such that they have too little time to spend with each of their X00 patients when each of them need care.
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Oh, concierge care has been around for years. It used to be marketed as a route for primary care physicians to escape the stranglehold of insurance company intrusion…i.e. totally independent practice. No insurance at all. Obviously, only applicable to the low hanging fruit that’s the run of the mill of primary care. Annual physicals, sore throats, supervising descent into metabolic syndrome etc.etc…Once specialty input is required , then it doesn’t help much. Over time, various management companies have become involved (for a slice of the pie, of course) and it doesn’t resemble much like independent practice any longer with the insurance industry controlling the funds.
Nothing more than the appearance of a bandaid for folk with money to spare. In reality, doesn’t alter the fundamental issue that’s really the subject of this thread…the insurance industry dipping it bread ever deeper into the healthcare gravy boat. Ultimately “our” healthcare dollar. Concierge medicine, for the most part, adds more bread dippers.
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I was a 40-year Marlboro smoker and quit 12 years ago.
I have chronic rhinosinusitis (sinus polyps and inflammation) and I have been seeing my ENT doc for about 7 - 8 years now. I’ve had two sinus surgeries at a Boston hospital to eliminate the polyps so that I can breathe through my nose somewhat normally.
My doc used to be in a local healthcare facility (not a hospital, just a big building with lots of different docs in it) and it was really convenient. Well I guess those in charge didn’t like paying for the rent, employees and other costs of that facility so they closed that one down and fired the folks in the office and moved the office back to Boston.
That’s a Win-Win-Lose situation.
- The big shots WIN by reducing costs and increasing charges (there is an upcharge on my Medicare bill for seeing me in a “hospital setting”)
- The doc WINS cause he doesn’t have to drive to the suburbs to see his patients!
- I LOSE cause now if I want to continue to see this doc, I have to drive into downtown Boston (not fun), pay outrageous prices to park, and then spend at least 2 hours on the road. Oh yeah, gas costs too.
They want me to come back in 4 months… I’m not sure that’s gonna happen.
'38Packard
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Great line!
intercst
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