I would like to know too. He said he goes to a concierge doctor. I go to a direct care physician, same idea.Originally Posted by Tybee
Mine is an M.D., family practice.
I would like to know too. He said he goes to a concierge doctor. I go to a direct care physician, same idea.
Mine is an M.D., family practice.
Last edited by iris lilies; 3-22-23 at 10:45pm.
He had been my doctor for many years and is an internist. A couple of years ago he joined what I think is called a concierge organization. He claims his patient load dropped from 1500 to 4 or 500. I'm not rich, but my health is about the best investment I can think of and there are a few advantages to his service. I can get in usually the same day and maybe next. I get the full blood panel from the Cleveland Clinic, a basic hearing screening and eye test, some strength and balance tests, the painful memory test, the usual physical exam, and maybe an hour or more long discussion of the results every year and a midyear light physical. Insurance works differently, but is no better or worse. His marketing says something like, even if you're just not feeling right, give me a call. I don't pay for his office visits and I always see him and not an assistant. I pay $900 every six months.
He's part of a big nation wide network called mdvip and I suspect their basic operations are standardized. Doctors are different and I'd maybe give him a 6 or 7 out of ten, but probably doesn't have much to do with the plan. He's mainstream and has waved me off of unnecessary surgery more than once and got me to a good specialist when I needed it.
When I first signed up I was very healthy and price seemed too much. Since then some things have changed and I think it has been a good investment and provides some peace of mind, too. I'm still pretty healthy, but you never know.
So an internist in a concierge practice. I know IL goes to a concierge practice. There is one here, but I'm already paying so much for Medicare, and if I could find a good primary, I would not need to pay that extra. On the other hand, maybe the one here is worth it. I am thinking I won't try the geriatrician because I don't want someone saying, well you're old, you can't expect to feel better, can you.
I am having a heck of a time getting a good specialist for my orthopedic problems. My husband also has ortho problems, and this week he got an appointment finally but it has been a 5 month wait. He is now scheduled for surgery, but they don't have an opening until October.
The medical system seems to be a maze of decision making. A concierge practice would not be likely to help with specialist issues. My Medicare plan is a supplemental plan through Blue Cross and I don't pay anything for that. Another point in the decision tree and I don't have a strong opinion either way, but it could possibly be a trade to free up some extra for a concierge doctor if it would be a reasonable trade off? It's kind of beyond my scope to say.
The problem here we experience is that you need a primary referral to get to a specialist, even though my Medicare is not set up that way. But they literally will not see you, and if your primary is terrible, then you don't get to see a specialist.
I will be the first to say I don’t get my “moneys worth” for my direct care physician for which I pay $900 a year. But I don’t care. I go once a year for the exam she requires to continue blood pressure medication, that is standard. I go to her office because it’s close by, easy to get to, and I like her although I’ve not seen the doctor in two years I see her nurse practitioners.
Last year I went a second time for a allergy test that pricked my arm and I paid around $150 for the test kit. That turned out to reveal not much. Yet I clearly have seasonal allergies, pollen allergies, plant allergies. And now food allergies since I got the results back of the food test and it was shocking. Highly allergic to eggs I am.
By “allergic “I mean I’m trying to solve the endless mucus production and coughing that comes upon me. I don’t get an upset stomach or feel sick.
I suspect what I will end up doing is living my life and taking an over the counter allergy medication as I’ve always done.
I only played around with these tests because I was mildly curious, not because I expected them to solve a problem or reveal anything important because I don’t have that much faith in these things.
That’s awful Tybee that you need a referral for specialists. I don’t here but it can be a 6 month wait and my doctor said she can’t get a patient in faster with a specialist then they can do themselves. I pay 400/month for all my health insurance so not paying for a concierge’s services plus I love my doctor.
I pretty much detailed what I get for the money. I have to say it is a bit of a luxury, but I can afford it and I'm satisfied. I probably could be fairly happy otherwise if I could find a good alternate doctor, but it seems like good doctors can be hard to find. I'm not even overjoyed with mine.
Same here
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Went to my Medicare annual visit and was quite pleased with the family practice doc. Young and open-minded about tests and such. Since there were no obvious issues and I had blood tests a year ago, he said any testing is unnecessary and are up to me which was unexpected. He said that over-testing is rampant. I have some sort of weird no-cost to me hybrid insurance from my work at the university. Blue Cross but structured like an advantage plan. With that and Medicare, I have never had to pay a cent or any deductibles for specialists thus far. It remains a mystery to me how it works.
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