Seattle doctors try flat-rate no-limit primary care

Reuters ^ | 07/07/2009 | David Lawsky

[EBH]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Seattle clinic for people fed up with insurance, started by doctors fed up with insurance, has gotten $4 million in private venture capital money to expand, it announced on Monday.

Qliance says it has a profit-making solution to the problems of long waits, rushed doctors and cursory care that bother patients, at the same time that it eliminates the paperwork and pressure that plague primary care doctors.

"If you spent five minutes in my office you would notice there is nobody waiting. We don't have to stack them up like jets over Newark," said Garrison Bliss, a doctor and co-founder of the primary care clinic.

The new venture funding comes from Second Avenue Partners with participation by New Atlantic Ventures and Clear Fir Partners, bringing total capital raised to about $7.5 million.

Co-founder Norm Wu said per-patient revenue is triple that of insurance-based clinics.

[Quix]

So, what’s the flat rate?

[GeronL]

would get you sued in NY... remember that story?

[Quix]

Ahhhh:

Qliance customers pay $99 to join, then a flat monthly rate of $39 to $119, depending on age and level of service. Patients can quit without notice and no one is rejected for pre-existing conditions.

[Ken522]

Don’t quote me on this, but I think there are fewer lawyers in Seattle than in NY.

[bobjam]

Just wait until Obama-Kennedy Care outlaws such places.

[GeronL]

lol.

I’d bet

[driftdiver]

You mean the free market can find its own solution?

[Daveinyork]

As long as private care is permitted, innovations like this one can be tried and tested. Once gummit takes over, all innovation and experimentation will be done.

[autumnraine]

Excellent idea! Until a pandemic occurs and everyone who paid their flat rate demands to be seen and treated.

The beauty of health insurance is that it at least allows a provision for seeing ‘out of network’ doctors in case of an emergency or something. That would help in the case of a local outbreak of illness or if you are out of town and need to see a physician.

So this idea is fine for those who will just accept their money is wasted by trying to get in to see the flat rate docs and/or never EVER go out of town.

Beyond that, what these doctors are doing is insurance fraud because insurance is regulated to make sure there is enough money in the future funds to cover upcoming illness. I doubt these people have enough money in the bank to cover that.

[DoughtyOne]

There was a doctor back east that started taking a flat rate from people. So what did the government do? They hounded his ass constantly.

I just heard something the other day that they were forcing some physician to cease something like this. It may have been the same guy.

[HiTech RedNeck]

When I mentioned this kind of scheme elsewhere, I was immediately jumped upon with the assertion that this was impossible because hypochondriacs would soak up all the doctors’ time. Yet here they clearly don’t.

[autumnraine]

Does that $39-119 include hospilization or testing? That’s kind of expensive for just doctor visits. You could put the money in the bank and pay for doctor care if catastrophe isn’t included.

[HiTech RedNeck]

You must be employed by an insurance company....

[freemike]

I saw a story of a doctor who set up a clinic at a local mall. He charged flat fees for certain procedures,,, and listed all his fees and procedures on a pamphlet. People loved him and he was always busy.

[Straight8]

Spot on. There will be numerous infractions (real or most likely imagined) grievous enough to shut down this type of clinic. Can’t have a successful medical plan competing with dear leader’s 8-year plan for the common folk.

[The Anti-One]

Forgive me but lawyers are irrelevant in this one. The doctors still carry their malpractice insurance. AmeriplanUSA started a similar type service in the mid nineties with dental, vision and prescription care. From what I understand they now sell a health care card as well. This is nothing new. What's new is the doctors are now getting some press for what's been around for twenty years and charging more.

JMHO

[EBH]

How do you figure that’s expensive?

How much do you pay a month for insurance?

My doctor is set-up at a flat rate for me of $80 per visit. His office has the ability to do a lot of their own basic testing. My recent blood panel was done in office and covered under the $80 visit. He can even do ultrasounds in office. I see him maybe 3 times a year and I think he is worth his weight in gold.

I would gladly pay him a flat monthly rate for his general practice, but that’s not how he is set-up.

Or are these doctors just showing us where all the money is really going and that ticks off the insurance folks.

[wastoute]

Thirty-five to thirty-seven dollars per 15 minute appt. is about "bare bones" for the cost of providing primary care services. As reimbursements get lower and lower there is less and less income for the physician providing the services who gets his paycheck out of what is left. As the paycheck goes down physicians get "creative" about getting it back up again. There are many legal ways of doing this. 10 min. appts. is one. Using nurses to do the EMR data entry and Rx writing is another and then one can do 5 min. appts.

Patients may not like what they get but they won't have many options. OTOH, if a physician can provide a patient with 15 min. of time in an office with just a doc and someone to answer phones he can cut costs considerably. Thirty dollars cash on the barrelhead can actually make money if the overhead is very low. We will probably see more and more of this in months and years to come, legal or not. In fact, anticipate it being illegal but like "speakeasies" back alley clinics will be tolerated (because they pay bribes, which unfortunatley will push the costs up, maybe to $35 dollars for 15 min.)

Welcome to the New America.

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[taxtruth]

The government hates competition.