If there is one thing that we have learned in the past few years about concierge medicine while watching this emerging healthcare market, it means that people really do not understand that this is not about the price. We think about these innovative doctors who carry a medical bag with stethoscope inside and who comes to the aid of our family and our bed, as far-sighted doctors who want to normalize their practice and return to the practice of medicine, as it was before 1960.
According to data analyzed from about 1,000 US concierge operations in the period from 2011 to 2013, we determined that the national average annual fee for concierge services ranges from $ 1,400 to $ 1,700 per patient per year. Large networks of concierge physicians and direct primary care physicians have demanded a significant share of the market share of concierge doctors and therefore help keep prices too high in large metropolitan markets. I have found that some independent concierge doctors who are not affiliated with larger franchise consulting companies that are not part of a large group may charge higher rates, $ 2,500 or more.
If more people are exposed to the cost of the cost of medical care for a concierge, this will go a long way in what they spend. A recent story in a popular national newspaper supports this belief. The paper says that Indiana has a high franchise plan, and another has a traditional HMO. People in terms of high franchises spend thousands less than in a HMO.
The average consumption in 2009 for patients in one of these [high-deductible] the plans amounted to US $ 6,393, the newspaper writes, compared with US $ 8,570 for patients included in the more traditional medical care plan.
It is also a fact that almost 60% of US medical concierge programs cost a person less than $ 135 per month. Some programs cost only $ 10 per month for children. Patients usually get unlimited access to a doctor in their home, at work or in the doctor’s office, as well as unlimited technology visits, such as a mobile phone, webcam, email and text messages. In addition, many concierge and direct primary care physicians provide access to wholesale pricing with prescriptions, laboratory tests, imaging services, and medical supplies for pennies per dollar.
Average combined annual household income of a concierge or direct primary care patient:
- 34% earn less than $ 100,000 each year
- 39% - earn from $ 100 thousand. To 200 thousand. Per year.
- 14% - earn from 200 thousand. To 300 thousand. Dollars per year.
- 5% - earn from $ 300 thousand. To $ 400 thousand. Per year.
- 3% - earn from 400 thousand to 500 thousand dollars a year
- 2% - earn from 500 thousand to 600 thousand dollars per year
- 1% - earn from $ 600 thousand. To $ 700 thousand. Per year.
- 2% - earn from $ 700 thousand. And higher per year
In 2010, I submitted this data to a significant financial publication and told them that using a mixed rate based on national rates for current fees charged for medical care, approximately 9,285,714,286 people could provide medical care for patients with the help of 13 trillion dollars of debt. As a result, 928,571,429 people could provide this assistance for 10 years. These figures are based on information obtained using average price estimates carried out in 2009-2010. & # 39;
Here is the result: When you combine a high deductible policy with a medical concierge program, you give people and families the opportunity to make better decisions about their health care, they in turn receive more comprehensive medical care, and then savings occur between doctors and their patients. One concierge doctor said it was best when she said that her patients could tell. I no longer have a doctor who needs to see my schedule to find out my name.
