obamacare | Atlas.md | EMR Software for Concierge Medicine

Posted by: AtlasMD

July 30, 2013

A Direct Care Venture Capitalist Finds An Obamacare Silver Lining

We mentioned New Atlantic Ventures (NAV) earlier in the month. They’re an investment firm backing, amongst many endeavors, direct care entrepreneurs who are helping hospitals insure their own employees. Evidently we’re not the only ones who think Obamacare will increase demand for cash-only medicine. The Managing Partner of NAV, John Backus believes there is a silver lining to forcing states to open a health insurance market and offer price transparency, increased costs due to all the red tape. And with this increased cost will come demand for more affordable options. It turns out that direct care sans middleman is exactly that kind of option.

You can read John Backus’ complete op/ed on Huffington Post.

Posted by: AtlasMD

July 23, 2013

Six In 10 Physicians Believe Many Doctors Will Retire Earlier Than Predicted

A Deloitte survey reports that a majority of physicians believe many doctors will retire earlier than planned in the next one to three years. The same percentage think medical experts losing control of their clinics will jeopardize the healthcare administration. This group also believes strongly that implementation of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, or Obamacare, will push doctors out of the primary care industry altogether.

A spokeswoman for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Jane Orient, was not surprised by the results at all. In a recent WND article, it was reported that she said doctors already have started leaving the profession through early retirement. Of course, some will instead seek alternatives to what they see coming in the federal government’s takeover of health care. And that’s why we’ve been championing our model of direct care. Because the worst outcome is a doctor not practicing at all. And if that’s what an overregulated market will encourage, then we have a serious problem.

Posted by: AtlasMD

July 23, 2013

LINKS: Will “Federal Data Services Hub” Pose An Obamacare Privacy Risk?

We came across an opinionated article on Rare.us asking, “Would you trust thousands of low-level Federal bureaucrats and contractors with one-touch access to your private financial and medical information?” Our immediate answer was of course not. But with Obamacare’s enactment, we might not have a choice. That’s because of something called the Federal Data Services Hub. This Data Hub will supposedly be a comprehensive database of personal information established by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help with the federally facilitated health insurance exchanges.

To paraphrase, with Obamacare, each state will need to have a transparent state insurance market (currently not every state has one). If a state creates and operates one themselves, then great. But if they don’t, the government will “run” one for them. And to help “run” this state insurance market, the Obama administration is planning to hire “tens of thousands” of “navigators” earning “$20 an hour or more” to help guide buyers to their taxpayer-funded coverage, according to the Washington Examiner.

Here’s a round-up of articles to give you a more complete picture of the Federal Data Services Hub:

Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

July 18, 2013

Are Health Plans REALLY Going To Fall 50% in New York?

Many outlets are reporting on a New York Times article claiming that “health plan costs for New Yorkers are set to fall 50%” as changes under the federal health care law take effect. This was announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday, July 17. He is quoted as saying, “New York’s health benefits exchange will offer the type of real competition that helps drive down health insurance costs for consumers and businesses.”

One problem with the article is that it actually says, “While the rates will fall over all, apples-to-apples comparisons are impossible from this year to next because all of the plans are essentially new insurance products.” This immediately got us thinking, well where did a 50% price drop come into play?

Posted by: AtlasMD

July 11, 2013

Dave Chase Says DPC Is Insurers’ Health Plan Rorschach Test

Forbes contributor Dave Chase claims he powers/covers disruptive innovators reinventing healthcare. A disruptive innovator Dave’s been covering lately is direct primary care (DPC). In his recent article he claims that despite being included in Obamacare, DPC is surprisingly unknown by many health insurance executives. He refers to it as Concierge Medicine for the Masses, which is pretty spot on, comparing the $50-$80 average monthly cost to a gym membership, something Dr. Josh said recently.

Dave’s job is to explain things like DPC to insurance executives and has found it to be like a Rorschach test “reflecting whether that executive’s organization is playing to win or is back on their heels regarding the wrenching changes that are reshaping healthcare from the DIY Health Reform movement as well as the effects of Obamacare.”

Posted by: AtlasMD

July 8, 2013

MORE GREAT NEWS: Conservative Student Group Fights For Free Market In Medicine

StarTribune posted a timely article (Via Huffington Post) from Durham, North Carolina. They’re reporting on a “new conservatism” that’s taking root on some college campuses, fed in part by opposition to Obamacare. The groups are modeled after The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, which according to the post “has molded several generations of legal thinkers at the nation’s law schools.” We’re excited to hear that this new wave of conservative thinkers wants to take root in graduate schools of business, foreign policy, and most relevant to our fight, schools of medicine like Duke University.

Posted by: AtlasMD

June 29, 2013

The New York Times Launches Ongoing Series Following Obamacare in Action

Check out the first part in a series about the new health care law in action. It’s superb journalism from The New York Times painting a wide-sweeping picture of how different clinics are ramping up to the new legislation. This first story is set in Louisville, an interesting city in that it’s set some incredible medical precedents (first hand transplant, first successful transplant of a self-contained artificial heart) but also has the highest rate of death from preventable conditions like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. The story follows a low-income clinic, revealing the abysmal salaries of the practitioners, two patients in dire conditions unwilling to get prescribed treatment, and an educator trying to help these clinics ramp up to the expected patient increase.

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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