Is Concierge Medicine the Way of the Future?

An Unconventional Approach to Fix What’s Broken in Modern Medicine

For hundreds of years people have paid for insurance to offset the catastrophic costs of unforeseen problems.

• We buy life insurance to cover the costs of an untimely death.
• We buy auto insurance to cover accidents.
• And we buy health insurance in case of illness.

These life events can be very costly and we cannot predict when they will happen. We do not know when we’ll die, get in an accident, or get sick. For these reasons, we buy insurance.

But health insurance has become a large problem. We’ve all read the headlines:

• A Major Insurer Just Pulled Out of Obamacare[1]
• Health Insurance Premiums Skyrocket[2]
• Uncertainty of Obamacare[3]
• Health insurance costs are skyrocketing[4]

As health insurance costs have increased and services have decreased, those with insurance are paying as much or more for healthcare as those without insurance.[5]

The Health Insurance Issue Nobody Talks About

Insurance Rules

Doctors who take insurance are often pressed for time because insurance pays them less.[6] Many doctor’s offices have a policy that allows a patient only one complaint or symptom per visit. This necessitates numerous visits and months or years to address multiple issues.

In some cases, doctors take this rule to the extreme:

“Bruce Angus says his wife Samantha, 60, died of a heart attack two weeks after she complained to a doctor about back pain in Selkirk, Manitoba. When she tried to speak of her heart problems, the doctor interrupted her and told her she’d have to make another appointment: ‘One appointment. One problem.’ That’s not good medicine.” [7]

Added Patient Expenses

Patients also have more expenses with insurance. While many receive government subsidies for health insurance, those who don’t find their healthcare expenses have increased dramatically. According to the Kaiser Foundation, whether we have insurance or not, we have about the same out-of-pocket expense for healthcare, about $3,000 per year. But those who are paying for insurance have the added expense of premiums, which can be considerable.[8]

It’s no wonder that so many doctors and patients are opting out of insurance for their regular care.

Why Physicians and Patients are Choosing Concierge Medicine