Bloomberg Businessweek wants to know what’s in store for our nation’s healthcare future. We are facing a staggering shortage of doctors, along with a growing demand for providers precipitated by Obamacare. In spite of thee challenges, there are doctors and entrepreneurs emerging, people searching for better outcomes. Our direct care operation, Atlas MD, was actually the first practice profiled in Bloomberg’s article. They shared one of our harrowing stories — helping a struggling, uninsured woman address her thyroid issues, and regain her vitality, for $147 instead of ~$1,500 a hospital would have potentially charged her.
Category Archives: Thoughts
February 26, 2014
February 26, 2014
Sure, Stage 2 Meaningful Use Regulations Are Great. That’s Why Providers Want A Two Year Delay In Their Implementation.
Fierce Health IT reports that “nearly 50 of the nation’s most influential provider organizations–including the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the Medical Group Management Association–are asking for a front-end extension to Meaningful Use Stage 2…” In fact, they sent a letter directly to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing just that. Read more
February 24, 2014
Dear Congress, This Doctor Is NOT For Sale. Don’t Sell Her Services Without Her Permission.
In her open letter to the President, Texas physician Kris Held, M.D. writes:
“Dear Johns,
“I am not for sale.
“You may not use me and my works to discriminate against my fellow American patients, much less for your profit. I will not serve one patient under one set of rules and another patient under a different set of your pen’s usurious rules. You lie to me and my patients. I call you out. You falsely advertise my services. You profess “access to care” for your members using false advertising when you list me as one of your “providers”. You trick patients, who you call members; I will not be tricked by you. By the way, I am a doctor not a provider.”
February 24, 2014
Apprehensive Doctors Shift From Private Practices Into Salaried Positions
According to the New York Times, “American physicians, worried about changes in the health care market, are streaming into salaried jobs with hospitals.” This exodus is most severe in primary care, followed by specialists.
February 21, 2014
Can A Drug-Dealing Robot Increase Direct Care Value?
Wired reports on a disruptive technology entering the healthcare market. PillPack, a startup pharmacy, hopes to overthrow the archaic process of picking up prescriptions. They’re charging $20 a month to enroll. PillPack will then deliver “drugs” directly to your doorstep. With the help of robots, all of your meds are organized into “dose packets,” which are small, well-designed plastic baggies. They’re even marked with the date and time they’re supposed to be taken.
February 21, 2014
You’ll Never Guess How These Democrats Respond To Being Asked About ACA Savings
Skip to 1:30 on this video for a priceless reaction. Three Members of Minnesota’s delegation — Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Reps. Tim Walz (D) and Collin Peterson (D) — fielded questions during an agricultural symposium held at South Central College in North Mankato, Minnestoa. Besides issues surrounding the recently passed farm bill, the trio also fielded questions about the Affordable Care Act. At ~1:30 you’ll see Peterson go speechless when one attendee engages the committee and says, “I thought the Affordable Healthcare Act would save $2,500 per family,” before asking, “What happened?”
February 20, 2014
Sean Hannity’s Realistic Healthcare Solutions Include Atlas MD-Style Direct Care
On March 25, 2010, President Barack Obama said, “From this day forward, all of the cynics, all the naysayers — they’re going to have to confront the reality of what this reform is and what it isn’t. They’ll have to finally acknowledge this isn’t a government takeover of our healthcare system. They’ll see that if Americans like their doctor, they’ll be keeping their doctor. You like your plan? You’ll be keeping your plan. No one is taking that away from you.”
Unfortunately, Obama’s PREDICTION is not the REALITY. And it’s not just our opinion, but Sean Hannity’s too, that maybe we should put less emphasis on “the plan” and in turn, less emphasis on government. Hannity is even going so far as to cite our direct care model in his vision of an American healthcare solution.
February 18, 2014
A Restaurant In L.A. Just Added Red Tape To Your Check
Republique is a fine dining establishment located in Hancock Park, a Los Angeles neighborhood. Because of Obamacare’s mandate that businesses with 50+ employees provide heatlhcare for ALL employees, they have unveiled an Obamacare “surcharge” tax. Currently, 3% of the untaxed bill is being added to customer tabs to cover the increased cost of their employee healthcare.
February 18, 2014
Dave Ramsey Does The ACA Math And It Doesn’t Add Up
If you’ve listened to the Dave Ramsey Show then you know Dave is a money guy with no formal political leaning (which is ironically political). However, this video segment walks through the oft-neglected common sense of Obamacare. Warning: he goes so far as to call the law communist. Regardless of the label, the math doesn’t work out. Our new healthcare law forces insurers to offer plans for flat rates, regardless of pre-existing conditions, and regardless of risk. Now while this is a noble moral imperative, it defies the ways that actuary tables ACTUALLY work. Meaning the only way for this type of setup to function is with higher premiums, to offset the added to insured groups.
February 17, 2014
STREAM: Concierge Medicine vs. Direct Care
We found this podcast from KPCC in Southern California and thought it was worth sharing with you. But not for the usual reasons. This episode takes a critical look at concierge medicine, asking, “Is concierge medicine pushing the nation’s doctor shortage over the brink? As the practice gets more affordable, is this a way for the uninsured to still get care? Is direct a la carte pricing a better way to bill patients for medical care?”