My doc used to run his own clinic, but it only lasted a year or so. The administrative burden was too high for him. I don’t understand any of this.
Here’s what people are writing.
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So, if I pay $100 per month, I can buy a concierge doctor to keep all prescriptions in order, outside of the insurance system completely, This does nothing in the event of an emergency. But is it worth it?
It is incredibly important at this moment for everyone who has plans through healthcare.gov (or the state equivalent) or is considering enrolling in such a plan to understand that NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
Prior to the shutdown healthcare.gov already assumed the results of the shutdown; the results that have happened. If those results change then premiums will be reduced for almost everyone using personal plans by at least 1% of your income (not the plan price, which is in practice, just hoopla.)
There really is no cost, no commitment, no vote to going to healthcare.gov and checking out how much health insurance costs. Yeah; you have to log in, you have to give personal information and if you don’t the price what you get will be garbage. Unless you seriously believe the current government is scamming your data just give that information and see what you pay.
If you seriously believe the current government is scamming your data (as, indeed, I do) then you need more money up front. At the end of the day you still have to fill in the tax return; that’s when I get all the money back. I pay up front (I don’t incur debts) and I take what is my right (I fill my tax return in correctly).
One of the lobbyists for the DPC’s (independent physicians who work outside of insurance) just sent me this on how to access a concierge primary care clinic, if anybody ends up needing it. DPC is like a subscription model for a doc who could write an insulin prescription. I do bump into diabetics occasionally who do this. https://mapper.dpcfrontier.com/
If you are a company who wants to fight with insurance, you go through a company like US Beacon via Kimberly Carleson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svAyX5lBSmw You would make some adjustments in your contract at renewal time. Companies are suing and NJ had a win. #gagclause #healthcareisaracket #callinthemarines | Patrick Moore | 10 comments
Congress is busy wanking it. The Honorable Member by FocusedBanger8989 | Suno But we should have a ruling out of FTC by the end of January. FTC Sues Prescription Drug Middlemen for Artificially Inflating Insulin Drug Prices | Federal Trade Commission
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@mohe0001 this is a great link for anyone: https://mapper.dpcfrontier.com/ – just passed it on to my son & his girlfriend.
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My closest local provider (26 or so miles away) would require $780/year for the subscription for my wife if she were younger (20-49). In addition she’d need a “catastrophic” plan (according to the web site), which is, in fact, what she already has through healtcare.gov. That plan would cover some amount of the blood tests US docs require but that leaves an additional $105 per set-of-tests (“comprehensive blood panel”), that’s once a year in practice.
She spent a variable amount, somewhere between $250 and $300, on the last few GP visits. They all lasted around an hour; there was a charge for extra time on the bills. The average she saw the GP was about twice per year. The charge is through the catastrophe plan.
So the numbers don’t pan out for us; buying a catastrophe plan on its own is better.
The issue with catastrophe plans is that everyone has to pay up-front. Many people can’t do that; ironically those with least spending money have to buy the most expensive insurance. However that applies even with a subscription for a GP.
For those of us using pump+CGM and on the ACA it is already a catastrophe. There is absolutely no point buying some other “add on” product.
Last year I hit the “catastrophe” in September, then the insurance kicked in and I didn’t pay another dime.
Yeah. For people who are above the Medicare limit, are on MDI and don’t live in a state which permits OTC sale of insulin, paying an extra $65/month for an insulin prescription gets the otherwise OTC insulin for around an additional $50 but that’s per vial; not per month so it may or may not work. I’m assuming no catastrophic insurance, so if you get ill you die.
Out here in Oregon I can buy insulin OTC; I have and I’ve used it.
Remember: the $35/month cap on price per insulin is a cap on the insurance charge. So to get non-human insulins at that price it is necessary to have the catastrophe plan.
It’s a bit like blood test strips; I didn’t buy those through “traditional” insurance when I had it (pre-ACA) I just imported them. Using a private GP subscription is exactly the same; the only point doing it is because it works out cheaper than the insurance which you have to have anyway and, yeah, if you see the doc more than 4 times a year that might pan out if you are on MDI and have a catastrophic plan.
It’s that time of year, time to do the tedious math.
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$1,000 per year might be worth it if they can keep my prescriptions valid. Concierge docs CAN be a lot better, depending on which one you hire and your circumstances. For example, the man I know who uses this, has two T1 children and he just calls the doc directly on the phone when he needs something. He wouldn’t do it any other way.
For me, if I knew in advance that I would loose access to my insulin pump for six months and need to spend months on the phone with them all over it, I would rather just pay the $1,000. But, you always think that the problem will get fixed.
I might pay $1,000 in premium for two months and not receive any access to care, like valid insulin prescriptions. A backup doctors isn’t unreasonable if you need the paperwork handled.
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When I was tired of dealing with my endocrinologist’s office, I met with 2 concierge doctors - one said he would be willing to take care of my diabetes prescriptions; the other said she would still want me to see an endocrinologist. I ended up just asking my regular PCP (a PA-C, actually) if she would be comfortable taking over my diabetes care. She looked at my labs, CGM data, etc, and said sure. It’s a lot cheaper than concierge care and I get what I need!
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I have both an endo and a PC, but the primary care does all the paperwork i think.
My former doctor became affiliated with something called MEDVIP which provides pre-paid “concierge” healthcare which for some sort of routine fee covered a lot of care needs… I didn’t look into it that much because I had good insurance at the time. Might be worth a Google