Is Concierge Care Affordable? Is it Worth the Cost?
One of our Facebook followers recently left us a note on our SignatureMD page. Katie says, “If I could afford it I would sign up, our health care system is a mess!”
This is a common misconception, that buying into a “Concierge Care” plan is solely reserved for the rich, and for middle-class people it is an unrealizable benefit. This is completely untrue in today’s medical insurance market.
Let us explain how you can rethink your traditional path to a doctor.
Most people work at a job where benefits of some sort are provided. But over years, shouldering the cost of the health premium has fallen more on the employee, as actual benefits and payouts have decreased. Many are stripped of healthcare so the company can survive to keep them employed. Then there are the enormous numbers of self-employed and small business people who have to pay exorbitant costs in individual plans that offer little. Those who face unemployment get the joy of COBRA where the costs of their premiums are so high, many cannot continue to pay for health insurance.
Just having an insurance card or even a doctor doesn’t mean you have good access to health care. We already know the average family spends $17,000 annually paying for health insurance premiums. By electing to sign up for a high deductible PPO Health Plan (premium costs plummet) that keeps catastrophic/hospitalization coverage in place for anyone in the family, and portioning out $1,500- $2,100 annually for your own private doctor through the SignatureMD network of physicians, you are guaranteed a complete executive exam (a value of $1,100 in itself) and numerous wellness and baseline tests without waiting or worrying you have to pay out of pocket for these preventative checkups.
By taking yourself out of the HMP/PPO traditional route where doctors are burdened by too many patients and little time to really pay attention, you are eliminating the stress of paying a premium you dare not use for fear of a rate hike, or additional doctor bills.
The best part about partnering with a primary care physician in the SignatureMD network is the enhanced access factor: You can reach your doctor directly at anytime and be seen on your schedule. SignatureMD concierge care doctors work with your insurance plan, delivering same-day appointments, give their patients cell phone numbers, and promise to arrange consults quickly with good specialists to arrange MRIs (even on the weekends).
SignatureMD doctors have streamlined their practices to be able to accommodate their partner patients on their schedule. No patient is left behind when a private doctor’s practice converts to concierge medicine. For those patients who decide not to take the concierge medicine option, basic medical services are attended to by a team of nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other medical professionals, who are all supervised by the senior SignatureMD physician.
The time, stress and money saved adds up to peace of mind and more efficient usage of your allotted medical budget. With a realignment of the money you already spend on healthcare, concierge care fees you invest in are not only tax deductible, but are an affordable safeguard to ensure your family is never left hanging in the wind waiting on tests or answers to any issues you are facing.
Ultimately, the truth of the matter is that people don’t like waiting for medical care and stress levels from being ignored or shunted in an overloaded queue of patients add up to even more distress for a patient and their anxious loved ones.
Concierge care gives you a greater focus on prevention and care coordination, a life changing improvement for those with chronic medical problems like rheumatoid arthritis, depression, MS, diabetes and heart failure, for whom close personalized management can reduce their hospitalization rates.
About SignatureMD
SignatureMD is one of the nation’s largest firms providing initial conversion and ongoing support services to concierge medicine physicians. SignatureMD currently partners with over 200 affiliated primary care physicians and specialists across 35 states, and its network is rapidly expanding.