your thoughts on Concierge Medicine

BuckeyeOliver · Jul 20, 2015

I really hope this doesn't get deleted but I've got a docter offering this option to me and am really undecided whether I want anything to do with it. This facility is going to end up with around 200 patients with longer appointments for each patient. The catch is you pay roughly $150 per month. I've heard this practice being called anywhere from brilliant to unethical. I don't go to the doctors but 5 or 6 times a year but find it ridiculous that if I don't go to this place I usually have to end up in an emergency room for a relatively minor illness (allergy treatments/bronchitis) and pay anywhere from $500 to $600 or more when it could have cost $300. With my deductible at where it is with my current insurance I have to visit the doctor something like 16 times before they start paying for office visits but with this type of mdeical practice I would have to visit 12 to 13 times before it pays for itself. Seems like little difference unless something testing wise or catastrophic happens. I guess I'm just looking for other opinions here as I know most peoples' situations are different. Thanks.

rrlund · Jul 20, 2015

Isn't that what an HMO was originally supposed to be,or do?

Patsdeere · Jul 20, 2015

My old man got suckered into it. It provided no benefit to him other than bragging rights that he went to that doctor. Saddest part was he was brainwashed by the doctor that it would be better for him. Funny part is that insurance wouldn't pick up a penny of the concierge charge. So basically he threw $2000 a year away since it got him no preferential treatment. My mom has since convinced him to go normal medicine and he hasn't died yet.

I wouldn't recommend it.

GBCMAN · Jul 20, 2015

I had the same Doctor for over 20 years, then he went in concierge medicine with a limit of 300 patients paying $150 per month.
Much as I liked the idea, I didn't go to the doctor enough to justify.
Didn't like the feeling of not being offered an alternative.
Had to find a new doctor.

Owen Aaland · Jul 20, 2015

The service needs to be matched with a high deductible catastrophic policy. The insurance will pay nothing unless you have some real serious problems. You then have to consider what you are saving with the higher deductible insurance and what you will be paying for the service. Also take into account that you will no longer have any co-pays when you visit the doctor. You also need to check out what drugs are available with the service. Consider it a prepaid health plan. If you are visiting a doctor five or six time a year and taking prescription drugs it may well be a good fit for you.

john *.?-!.* cub owner · Jul 20, 2015

Sounds just like paying a lawyer a retainer.

Wesley Stephens · Jul 20, 2015

sounds like it could be a feasible option, but I would analyze it with a good magnifying glass and a razor-sharp pencil. I am lucky to have a good friend who is a very good PA that I trust. The last of the "real" doctors is gone from this area. Until a few years ago, the doctor I saw was a great guy and excellent doctor that you didn't even need an appointment for. Whether you had a cold or needed stitches, you showed up and he took care of you. If you needed a specialist, he wouldn't hesitate to send you. The only problem was that his hours got cut back pretty seriously during deer season. At one time, he even had his own pharmacy in the office and brought his pet raccoon to work. I'm sure his office was the last one I saw people smoking in, but he didn't care much for political correctness. The PA I visit now is just as good though. If he were not around, I don't know where I would go for a doctor. We are in a rural, poor area and they are few and far between.

FBH44 · Jul 21, 2015

WEll, us old geezers have to remember, time is slipping away, we ain't geting any healthier or better. In just my recent health history, I suddenly got Type II diabetes, suddenly had to have cardiac bypasses, suddenly had to get rid of that old gall bladder ... The unexpected IS gonna happen, it's headed our way, it really is.

Steamboat · Jul 21, 2015

If you can afford "concierge" medical treatment, why in the world can't you find a much better basic insurance plan????

BuckeyeOliver · Jul 21, 2015

Thanks for the comments everyone. I think I'm in the same boat as GBC. Really do not go to the doctor alot if I can help it and am not "old" by any stretch (I'm in my late 20s). I'll think about it some more. I need to look over the numbers some more but it just looks like extra coverage I don't need. We have a number of doctors within 20 miles or less of here so its not like I absolutley have to have this one.

your thoughts on Concierge Medicine

BuckeyeOliver

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rrlund

Well-known Member

Patsdeere

Well-known Member

GBCMAN

Member

Owen Aaland

Well-known Member

john .?-!. cub owner

Well-known Member

Wesley Stephens

Member

FBH44

Well-known Member

Steamboat

Member

BuckeyeOliver

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