Doctors try new models to push health insurers aside
source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030703989.html
I'd previously read about some of Seattle's low cost clinics .....this is good stuff.
I hope more Doctors follow their lead and teach the insurance companies that they can't can't call all the shots when it comes to health care.
"Just about everyone agrees that the way we pay for primary care needs fixing. Under the current insurance model, doctors get paid for procedures and tests rather than for time spent with patients, which displeases doctors and patients alike and increases costs.
Now some medical practices are sidelining health insurers entirely, instead charging patients a moderate membership fee each month. The approach gets a nod in the health-care overhaul law. But not everyone agrees it's the right way to go.
Seattle-based Qliance Medical Management's three clinics typically charge a patient about $65 a month for unlimited access to the practice's 12 physicians and nurse practitioners. (Fees vary depending on the level of service and the patient's age.)
Office appointments last up to an hour, and clinics have evening and weekend hours, with e-mail and phone access to clinicians as well. Routine preventive care and many in-office procedures are free; patients pay for lab work and other outside services "at or near" cost, and they get discounts on many medications."
Continued here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030703989....
I hope more Doctors follow their lead and teach the insurance companies that they can't can't call all the shots when it comes to health care.
"Just about everyone agrees that the way we pay for primary care needs fixing. Under the current insurance model, doctors get paid for procedures and tests rather than for time spent with patients, which displeases doctors and patients alike and increases costs.
Now some medical practices are sidelining health insurers entirely, instead charging patients a moderate membership fee each month. The approach gets a nod in the health-care overhaul law. But not everyone agrees it's the right way to go.
Seattle-based Qliance Medical Management's three clinics typically charge a patient about $65 a month for unlimited access to the practice's 12 physicians and nurse practitioners. (Fees vary depending on the level of service and the patient's age.)
Office appointments last up to an hour, and clinics have evening and weekend hours, with e-mail and phone access to clinicians as well. Routine preventive care and many in-office procedures are free; patients pay for lab work and other outside services "at or near" cost, and they get discounts on many medications."
Continued here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030703989....
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