Rising Health-Insurance Premiums

We are currently 9 months into the practice since my clinic opened and more than 12 months since I started doing house calls to spread the word about a new way of providing primary care. 

In the last 5 years, we have seen a shift in healthcare policy. Expanding coverage we all know does not immediately mean accessible and affordable care. In addition, we see people waving their Medicaid/Medicare or private insurance cards in the air saying, "we are insured so come see us" but there are less physicians to take care of them. More and more physicians as well as large health systems are not participating with Medicaid/Medicare or some private insurance carriers. 

So, before you start to feel comfortable having that plastic card in your pocket, you should spend the time to figure out exactly what you actually bought and which physicians participate with your plastic card. 

Some folks who called my office would say "I already pay so much for my insurance. I can't afford you." This is a common misperception. At $50-100 per month, there are no copays, direct access to your doctor, longer visits that can solve many issues in one visit, and discounted meds, imaging, and labs for those who are interested. 

People fail to see the "indirect" costs of seeing primary care in the traditional model. These 10-15 minutes visits, unnecessary specialist referrals, difficulty getting into the office, lost time at work or home in waiting for appointments, and more importantly, participating in FREE community education events rather than asking Dr Google. 

To some, the discount meds, imaging, and labs don't matter. But what about the ability to get an EKG, suturing, skin biopsy, joint injection if needed, for FREE rather than feeling nickel and dimed. 

This model assures the patient that procedures are being done in the interest of the patient, not as a business revenue. 

Business owners to this day lose their minds when I share this with them. What! No margin on these procedures?! 

Primary care is not a business that should generate revenue from "doing stuff". It should be rewarded for its ability to establish a long term relationship, provide evidence based consultation and care, while preventing development of disease. Ultimately, the focus of primary care is optimizing your quality of life as you define it. 

Read the full WSJ article by clicking HERE.