Last year, the New York Times wrote about Orlene Paxson, a 33-year-old, stay-at-home mom. Living on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, she was unable to find an obstetrician that she liked who would accept her insurance. A lot of them weren’t accepting new patients, and one doctor who came highly recommended didn’t return her call for five days and didn’t want to see her until 12 weeks into the pregnancy. This was Mrs. Paxson’s first time being pregnant. She didn’t want to wait. Her policy didn’t cover any out-of-network services, but she and her husband went the cash-only route and paid the entire fee themselves — $13,000.
Tag Archives: Direct Care
March 6, 2014
March 6, 2014
We Think We Know The Answer… But How Has Your Insurance-Free Medical Experience Been?
At the end of their recent article about cash-only medicine, The New York Times asks, “With all the changes in health care and insurance, has your doctor stopped accepting insurance? If so, what has been your experience — both with the care and with your insurer? The article title is warily slanted — “Dealing with Doctors Who Only Accept Cash” — but the writer shared their own wonderful story about a cash-only doctor who drove an hour and a half to successfully take care of a sick baby.
March 6, 2014
You’re Paying That Much For Your Phone? You Can Get A Personal Physician For The Same Price.
Image provided by aei-ideas.org
Epiphany Healthcare in North Port, FL, is another member of our burgeoning direct care movement. American Enterprise Institute wrote about their model and included the price comparison table above. Two obvious points worth mentioning — ACA Bronze coverage DOES NOT do much for patients and still costs a serious amount of money. It might feel safe because it includes catastrophic coverage… But here at Atlas MD in Kansas, we’ve helped patients get wrap-around coverage with a $5,000 deductible for less than $150/mo… Meaning that with direct care and wrap-around coverage combined, we’re giving you more care, and security, for potentially the same price as a Bronze ACA plan.
March 5, 2014
We Love Seeing Direct Care In The Local News. But We Never Said, “No More Insurance.”
Direct care made a local news segment in Kansas City. But Dr. Troy Burns wasn’t too happy with the title of the online article that accompanied it. It reads, “Doctor’s new orders: No more health insurance.” Thank you, Fox News, for taking notice of our model of care — one that’s affordable, practical, and is making patients and doctors happy. However, we have to point out that insurance is DEFINITELY necessary in the event of trauma or catastrophe.
March 4, 2014
American Healthcare Deception Starts And Stops With Insurance
Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, M.D. posted a powerful blog entry on the New York Times website. He describes the ideal doctor-patient relationship, a place where intimacy transpires and information is exchanged openly and honestly. But he adds a caveat: “That is seldom the reality… Deception in the doctor-patient relationship is more common than we’d like to believe.”
March 3, 2014
Are Pillbox Apps Just Nagging Parents In Disguise?
Getting patients to take their pills requires something more than an app — it’s called finesse.
We’re big fans of technology here at Atlas MD. We bring our iPads into the examination room. We field phone calls from our patients. We’ve coordinated prescriptions and medications with pharmacies and then texted timely information to patients in need. Dr. Doug has literally brought tears of joy to a woman’s eyes for such an effort. So you’d think that helping people take their pills would be the perfect thing for a mobile app to do, right?
Well, there plenty of apps offering this service on the app store. But are they getting people to take their pills?
March 3, 2014
Direct Care Docs Left The Healthcare Blues Behind. Then John Stewart Sang Them.
If you’re in the mood for a good laugh, check out this comedy round-up from The Atlantic. At the 1:30 mark, John Stewart decries Obamacare and its endless woes with a montage of politicians determined to save the monstrosity. You won’t believe how many times various proponents have uttered the phrase “Fix it. Don’t nix it.” in front of a camera. Is this our government’s way of fixing healthcare? Rhyming idealism? To be fair, we are visionaries, too. But as direct care practitioners, we spend less time trying to make our desires rhyme, and more time just making them a reality.
March 3, 2014
Stephen Colbert Goes Where No Direct Care Patient Has To — Healthcare.gov
You have to love a good healthcare satire. Watch Stephen Colbert try to sign up for insurance on healthcare.gov on The Colbert Report. As an Obamacare “navigator” tries to help him through the process, Colbert makes the situation very uncomfortable when he jokes about getting “actual” care. Of course, as you know, the time-consuming nature of Obamacare enrollment is a prime example of red tape. And, as this sketch indicates, the way our administration fixes red tape, is with more of it, i.e. paid government employees known as “navigators.” Thankfully, here at Atlas MD, we don’t have to hire a team of people to help our patients sign up.
SPOILER ALERT: After a gruesomely awkward incident, Colbert finally finishes entering his information, only to find out the webpage he needs… doesn’t exist.
March 2, 2014
Ringadoc Phone Concierge Wants To Charge You $40 Per Telehealth Visit. For $10 More We’ll See You Anytime, Anywhere.
It looks like telehealth and concierge medicine just got cozier.
Announced last week, Ringadoc, based in San Francisco, has launched a platform that allows patients to have a telehealth consult with their own doctor. According to Mobile Health News, “Ringadoc Phone Concierge costs roughly $40 per visit… similar to a standard insurance co-pay for a visit to the doctor’s office.”
March 2, 2014
The Future Of EMRs: Too Many Clicks And Too Little Savings
Kevin MD might be the honorary ambassador of EMR frustration. He recently wrote about his EMR disappointment. He writes, “It takes me over 50 mouse clicks, all while scrolling through dozens of screens, to document a straightforward office visit for a sinus infection. Refilling a single prescription electronically, which I do over a hundred times a day, takes over 10 clicks.” You’ve heard this story all before, right? It’s what no tech conglomerate making these machines will ever publicize — EMRs are for the most part, epic exercises in mindless clicks. And to make it worse, reports from left leaning publications say that digital health records offer little savings.