Do Any Members Have Consierge Medical Services?

Discussion in 'Health & Wellness' started by Lon Tanner, Aug 19, 2020.

  1. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I am thinking about changing to a new Primary Care doctor MDVIP --
    Concierge medicine
    Concierge medicine is a relationship between a patient and a primary care physician in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other charges. In exchange for the retainer, doctors agree to provide enhanced care, including principally a commitment to limit patient loads to ensure adequate time and availability for each patient.
     
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  2. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    No. I had a PCP a few years ago who converted his practice to Concierge and I refused to pay the ridiculous "annual fee." I typically see a doctor once a year for a physical and blood work, so it was definitely not worth it to me. I stayed mad at that doctor for months; I liked him and hated to have to find a new doc. A couple of my friends also were his patients until he converted his practice, so I wonder how it worked out for him in the long run.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Related in a peripheral way, there are ambulance services that serve a subscriber base. The advantages to the subscriber are that the responding EMS personnel will be familiar with the patient's medical history and special needs, and thus able to more quickly render appropriate aid, as well as that the subscriber will know the level of service the responding crew will be able to provide. In the event that all of the ambulances operated by the subscription ambulance company are busy, which doesn't happen often with subscription services, the subscriber is entitled to service from whatever public EMS company serves their area. The advantages to the ambulance service are similar, as they want to be able to provide appropriate aid as quickly as possible and, of course, they can also be assured that they will be paid for every call that they respond to. On the downside, some states require even private ambulance companies to respond to emergencies within their general area, which defeats the advantages.

    More directly related, I understand that one of our local doctors is looking into entering into this type of business model, and there are attractions to it.
     
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  4. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    This is a nice arrangement that my Assisted Living facility has made with this doctor. He is not a House Doctor and has his own office.
    He can be seen in my apartment or the Wellness clinic here on site. He has a limited number of patients and will accept Medicare and Supplemental Insurance payments for his services. No more long waits or inconvenience of dealing with my former PC doc that I only had for two years anyway. He is certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. He is 52 years old which I like since my old PC doc should have retired years ago.
     
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  5. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I just met my new PC doc that came to my apartment for our first visit. I like him and think this Concierge Medicine Program will work well for me.
     
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  6. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    That's a nice arrangement.

    My last doctor went on a "limited patient" concierge program. I usually don't do stuff like that, but I really liked the guy, I had been seeing him for quite a while, and I had the money at the time...so I decided to try it for a year. It worked out so well I kept with the program until he retired.

    If your program is like my doctor's was (MDVIP), you pay a monthly retainer, and in return the doctor greatly reduces the number of patients he will take on (my doctor went from 2,400 patients to something like 600, with a contractual cap of 900.) He was a happy camper, he was always available, appointments were on-time and relaxed...he gave the type of patient care he always wanted to.

    That monthly fee also covered the cost of a high-end annual physical. Between all the tests, the actual exam, lifestyle questions and discussion, I bet I was in there for 3 hours.

    When I first moved here, there was only one MDVIP doctor about 40 miles away. This conversation made me go look...there are now about 8 in the region. Some are 30 minutes away rather than the 15 I've got now. Hmmmm....
     
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  7. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    But, Lon, you do pay for all of these "very nice" conveniences you have. It's also very nice to have that kind of money, because many Seniors don't. Heck, there are many people in America that don't, then again, like yourself, many that do.
     
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  8. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    So What's your point?
     
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  9. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Not really anything, except, perhaps, it's very nice to have that kind of care and the money to pay for it. You are the one who even stated that there have been some residents that have moved out, possibly due to not being able to afford the care anymore.

    We all know you're not rich, but definitely have the money to be able to be taken care of. Lon, there are many, many Seniors that, for whatever reasons, don't have that kind of money for good care.
     
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  10. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    And some do have that kind of money but choose to not spend it on a concierge service. :D
     
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  11. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I had the same program for 15 years Lon is considering.
    Mine used to cost $100/month, or $25/week.
    I just looked up the current price in my area...less than $150/month, or about $40/week.

    We're not talking a lot of money here...way less than a couple would spend eating out once a week.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 20, 2020
  12. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I have Long Term Care Insurance Cody that takes care of a big chunk of my monthly care costs.
    Many seniors could have purchased some kind of insurance during their working years to help offset the cost of their future care.
     
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  13. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Are you kidding me? $150 a month for nothing in my experience. I see my doctor once a year and I wouldn't then if she'd give me my blood pressure medicine without it.

    And my previous doctor charged $3,000 a year for his concierge service. (So he'd get the $3k and still bill my insurance and Medicare??) And may I say, "LOL."
     
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  14. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Right.

    There are lots of threads with peop0le spending much more money on non-essentials. *cough* watches *cough*
    When my doctor first went this way in the late 90s, I did some research. At that point, this was a long-term established thing on the west coast. Some Concierge Fees back then in California were $25,000 a year. I never found if those were the "Doctors to the Stars" or what.

    I was the same as you...only seeing my doctor annually. I never got sick. But I really liked the guy and did not want to change doctors. Once I was able to get reimbursement through my health insurance in the guise of fees-for-a-physical, I had no reason to leave. The last few years that reimbursement went away, but it was worth the $100/month to keep the relationship. And the fee still covered the costs of a very in-depth physical.

    The one thing stopping me from considering it now is that the entire region is locked up with University of Virginia Health Care System. Most of the doctors are part of it. I get instant referrals. All my records are immediately available to every UVA doctor. They can all bring up CT scans, MRIs, lab results, etc.

    The past 2 years I've been going through stuff that has all ended up being nothing, but in the process I've not had to struggle with getting referrals for scans & lab work...each doctor submits the request and the results immediately on his/her terminal as we are speaking. I'm going in next week for a prostate biopsy, as well as some other stuff, and don't want to struggle getting referrals and results back & forth between systems on top of the implied stress. Of course, if I had a better doctor, I think this would have been discovered sooner.
     
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  15. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I Have a Oncologist, Dermatologist, Rheumatologist and a Primary Care Doctor that I will be changing because I am unhappy with his practice. I will be getting a new PC that has a MDVIP practice.

    MDVIP is a national network of primary care doctors who see fewer patients so they can focus on delivering personalized medicine, patient-centered medicine and preventive care that starts with the MDVIP Wellness Program.
     
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