Posted on 08/23/2013 1:23:49 PM PDT by NCjim
Physicians across the country are attending seminars that teach doctors how to start their own direct primary care practices. Direct primary care practices take no health insurance, only cash. In a recent survey conducted by the DPMA Foundation, 2 out of 3 doctors say they are “just squeaking by or in the red,” and 83% say they are “thinking about quitting the business.” With the looming threat of Obamacare, many doctors are planning to ditch the traditional business model for a more simple and straightforward one.
Dr. Jerome Aya-Ay from Palmetto Proactive healthcare in South Carolina uses the “Direct primary care,” model which is successful because it eliminates the bureaucratic hassle of insurance and lowers prices for the consumer.
Dr. Jerome Aya-Ay charges his patients via a price list similar to a restaurant menu. He also charges a monthly fee of $60 for routine services which most doctors cannot do. Listen to the interview below.
Chiropractors have been using the cash only business model for many years and are experiencing great success. Dr. Scott Baker, owner of Upper Cervical of Spartanburg, S.C. said, “We started to go 100% cash in May 2012 and are experiencing great success, now we are moving into a state of the art facility 3 times bigger than our current venue, and we will be hiring a new doctor.” Dr. Scott said he is creating a patient-driven practice. His new clinic will have a “health-spa feel” with digital touch screens for patient check-ins, flat screens TVs, and a paperless office so he can have more time to focus on his patients.
The Heritage Foundation’s Ed Haislmaier said, “I think we are going to see primary care doctors increasingly moving to a cash-only arrangement, where they opt out of insurance rules.” The simple truth is that doctors want to get off the insurance grid not only because of the risky regulations and economic factors, but because they want better relationships with their patients.
Dr. Tom Kendall of Greenville, S.C., a practicing physician and the president of the Association of American Surgeons and Physicians said, “Obamacare is not about healthcare, it’s about control. Obamacare puts the relationship of the patient and physician under the jurisdiction of the government. This means more government control and less patient choice. Under Obamacare, healthcare will be rationed, healthcare costs will increase, and bureaucrats will decide medical treatments instead of the physician and patient.”
Upstate doctors who are moving to a direct primary care are creating win-win solutions for medical professionals and their patients. It would be a move from a bureaucracy-driven model which is enamored with red tape and creates a wedge between the doctor and patient, to a patient-driven model with no insurance interference, less government intrusions, and no wasted time dealing with paperwork. It is a model that will create lower fees for patients and will allow doctors to foster better relationships with patients. The real solution to healthcare is to give patients more control over their health care dollars, and unchain doctors from the shackles of government control and regulations.
If physicians are *allowed* to provide private health care without insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, one more thing is essential to their well being: exemption from Title II of HIPAA.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Title II of HIPAA, known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers. And *mandatory* compliance with these standards by everyone practicing medicine.
Despite what this says, in practice it means that all doctors must keep patient records in a standardized electronic format that can be accessed at will by numerous government agencies and others.
It totally eliminates the “doctor-patient privilege”, and cleared the path for single payer national health care.
N.B.: Many Republicans supported this law, so have to be considered as untrustworthy to oppose Obamacare. They *want* socialized medicine.
In any event, if private physicians, who take neither insurance, Medicare or Medicaid patients, want to continue to be free, they must someone get exemption from Title II of HIPAA.
Great thought—better than casinos!
In my state -- not sure about other states -- insurance will take effect on the first of the next month or, if you apply after the 23rd of the month, coverage will commence on the 1st of the second month following. Much the same as commercial policies currently.
Yes it did, that was on about page 840 of her plan.
I was in the midst of a major problem back then and went to a second doctor for his opinion. I paid out of pocket, and as I did so I told the receptionist that if HillaryCare was in effect (It was still all up in the air) I would be faced with a$10,000 fine for that cash payment I was making and her doctor would be facing 5 years in prison.
She gave me a look of shock, but kept her mouth shut. I don't know if she believed me or not.
Here's how the plan will work - each doctor will charge $1,500 per year per family member ( think 'club membership) - after the annual entry fee's paid, each visit's a flat hundred bucks.
In short, if you're NOT a member of your local exclusive golf club or Yacht Club you won't have access to the best doctors...ever again. And your kids won't either. But the BIGS at the IRS will work out a deal - as will all the other liberal elites... their kids will be protected too... yours - not so much.
“I would assume the government will not tolerate cash for pay medical services and will demand that they serve anyone who walks in and demands it”
That is certainly what happened in several European countries, at least for a while -— although most are now permitting free enterprise.
My docotor is pretty much like that already. Makes house calls, too.
Just kidding... Sorta.
My (once probably what they considered a "cadillac plan" is now useless. I now pay outta pocket for everything up to 6k. My husband just has gall bladder surgery and I joked that it probably will come in at 5999.99.
But for a mello roos don’t they have the residents of the neighborhood vote for it before it is initiated since it is specific to a neighborhood?
I was once told that one of my wife’s meds was $500 w/o insurance, but only $9 with it. That’s insane, but illustrates the problem of being without health insurance.
The individual is not required ever to purchase “health insurance”. Instead, payment of an annual fine in lieu of approved “health insurance” (really a protection racket) is a viable option for a while, until the fines get as high as actually buying the “health insurance” coverage.
In Islamic countries this is called “jizya”, a tax on the Dhimmi class paid to the Islamic authorities. You are allowed to not practice the Islamic religion, but only at a price.
The ultimate trump of obamacare.
Every day I thank God that neither Osama Obama,his rich pals,Members of Congress and their staffs nor members of certain “special” labor unions will ever have to wait six months for heart surgery like Canadians do now and we,the Great Unwashed,will in the near future.
and if you pay in cash the price is a lot lower apparently.”
My internist was agreeable to my request for a negotiated fee based on cash only - not credit card or check. Rarely sick and don’t see her unless I absolutely have to. I have a copy of all of her chart notes on my visits even though they are almost impossible to read and no paperwork ever leaves her office. Works for both of us.
There are a variety of prescription savings clubs that the uninsured can join for a nominal fee, like with CVS, Walgreens, etc. Hubby’s medicine used to cost us 20 bucks when we had insurance, but without it would have been $252. With the prescription card, we pay about $132.
Insurance saved us a lot, but since we were paying over $600 for a family of 3 (including our 25-year-old daughter) just to be covered, we never really spent what we put into it. We certainly can’t afford ZeroCare’s price of $1250/month just for the 2 of us, so we probably won’t be insured again until we hit 65.
what the didn’t tell you, is that there was a generic alternative for $1
Be sure to underpay your income tax.
I believe garnishing tax refunds is currently the only mechanism in place to collect the fines.
I was thinking along those same lines regarding HIPAA and I bet the more liberal states (to begin with) will require participation in government insurance programs as a condition for a license to practice
sfl
Ugh!
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