Posted by: Josh Umbehr, M.D.

April 30, 2014

Direct Care Is A Declaration Of Doctor Independence

Originally appeared on KevinMD.com

Yes, it really is time to revoke the health-care mandates issued by bureaucrats who ARE NOT in the profession of actual healing.

Daniel F. Craviotto Jr. writes on WSJ.com, “In my 23 years as a practicing physician, I’ve learned that the only thing that matters is the doctor-patient relationship.”

Craviotto, Jr. is a doctor who embodies the fight of Direct Care. How we interact and treat our patients truly is the practice of medicine. There’s a problem with the rising cost of health care (for starters, Oregon spent over $1,000 per subscriber on just a website to sign up for coverage that might not even provide a doctor).

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 24, 2014

We Can’t Say No To Patients? I Thought We Were Professionals.

Yes, the customer is almost always right — except if they’re paying cash for healthcare. In this case, yes, the “customer” has the right to take their business elsewhere. But do they have the right to complain when I won’t prescribe a drug I know they don’t need?

No way. And just like I don’t WANT to pay taxes, my accountant provides me with options to address what I need to do and what I should not do.

Of course, I don’t have to listen to my accountant. I can forego paying my taxes.

However, I shouldn’t be surprised when the IRS calls me to demand payment, garnishes my wages, and ultimately closes my practice.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

January 30, 2014

LISTEN: Atlas.md Podcast, Ep. 14

LISTEN: Atlas.md Podcast, Ep. 14

We’re back and a LOT has happened! Seriously, 2014 is going to be a year of paradigm shift — the status quo isn’t going to cut it if insurance premiums jump 50-60% and fee-for-service docs are being told to keep 6 months of cash on hand to protect themselves from ICD-10 payment delays. Great news, though, we’re working with large unions comprised of 10-15k employees — manufacturing unions, school district unions, others — and excited about how vital this could be in the spread of direct care. And there are more physicians cutting the red tape — A practice in Oklahoma opens April 1st; Dr. Michael in Missouri is almost ready to start operating cash-only; an office in New Mexico opens February 1st; and several more are slated for the next few months. Once this ball gets rolling, we’re convinced it’s not going to slow down.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 14 OF THE ATLAS MD PODCAST HERE

In this episode, the docs outline best practices for direct care pricing, share a surprising story of insurance intimidation, and offer insight into the effects that insurance-free medicine will have on healthcare.

Posted by: AtlasMD

June 21, 2013

Breitbart Builds Massive Dialogue After Reporting on Dr. Doug’s CNN Money Feature

Breitbart Builds Massive Dialogue After Reporting on Dr. Doug’s CNN Money Feature

We told you about Dr. Doug’s CNN Money feature last week. Now, in a recent article, Breitbart quotes that “after five years of dealing with the red tape of health insurance companies and the high overhead for the staff [Dr. Doug] hired just to deal with paperwork, he switched to a system of charging his patients a monthly fee plus the price of an office visit or test.” We did want to point out that this line had a bit of an error. Dr. Doug charges extra for things like MRIs, prescriptions, blood panels, but NOT for office visits. But, regardless of the minor oversight, the article generated a massive conversation, with resounding support for concierge medicine.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 11, 2013

Kansas Representatives Praise Stripped-Down Healthcare Plans

The Topeka Capital-Journal posted a story yesterday saying that David Powell and Beverly Gossage praised Kansas’ Legislature for passing of a bill that will open the state insurance market to stripped-down health plans.

Both candidates are vying to replace Sandy Praeger in 2014. According to them both, “Mandate Lite” policies will combat the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare.

Ironically, the law wasn’t even written to battle Obamacare. According to Powell, a Republican who helped draft it, the idea originated much earlier. He said, “I wrote this law in 2008 based on my concern that the direction our health insurance rates were going (up) in Kansas would hurt our citizens and businesses.”

Supporters believe this new Kansas law will make insurance more affordable, especially for young, healthy Kansans. It will allow them to opt out of coverage for things like diabetes care, allergy treatments, prostate screenings and mental services. These services are known culprits of high-cost insurance premiums.

Check out the complete article at cjonline.com.

Posted by: Josh Umbehr, M.D.

April 9, 2013

Simplify Healthcare With Two Simple Actions

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law in March of 2010. Fortunately, Section 1301(a)(3) allows direct primary care medical homes to operate in the state-based insurance exchanges beginning in 2014. Now more Americans will be able to elect direct primary care!

What Can I Do To Support This Type of Care?

If you are a provider or a concerned citizen you can join the Direct Primary Care Coalition. Signing up is as easy as providing an email address. Then you can stay on top of everything important happening in Congress that pertains to direct primary care.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 9, 2013

Kansas Direct Medicine Gets an Obamacare Bypass

There’s nothing like waking up to some seriously good news! Last Friday, the Topeka Capital Journal said the Kansas House of Representatives “eventually passed a bill” that will permit the state’s health insurance market to sell stripped-down policies.

So what’s that mean? It means Kansas residents can purchase an insurance plan covering only high-cost events like emergency, trauma and unexpected operations. This will free up the ability to pay for general care out of pocket. And it motivates doctors to stay within and join the direct care business model. Happy patients and doctors can keep up their successful relationships without the government getting in the way. And more doctors can partake in direct care’s more enjoyable professional environment.

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