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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