Concierge or VIP Healthcare?

[Pete]

Several years ago there was a discussion about a private health service; local but I believe it is part of a national organization.

You basically pay a flat yearly/quarterly fee for very personalized healthcare. I don't believe any of it is covered by insurance.


Does this ring a bell with anyone? I may be interested in pursuing it in the coming year.

TIA!

[Pete]

I think it was MDVIP:

https://www.mdvip.com/


Anybody have recent experiences?

[sooner88]

Several years there was a discussion about a private health service; local but I believe it is part of a national service.

You basically pay a flat yearly/quarterly fee for very personalized healthcare. I don't believe any of it is covered by insurance.


Does this ring a bell with anyone? I may be interested in pursuing it in the coming year.

TIA!

We have access to Primary Health Partners through our work's insurance, and couldn't recommend it more. Their schedule is very open and I've been able to get in whenever I needed to. If not through insurance, you can pay ~$99/month for it. Worth looking into.

[stlokc]

Pete, my parents recently signed up with MDVIP and they have been thrilled. They wish they’d enrolled with them years ago.

[bombermwc]

There have actually been several providers around town doing this for 20 years already. It's a different model of pay-for healthcare. If you can afford it, and have a higher-than-average need for provider visits/care, then it can be a good thing for you. That's why ArchWell exists (among others) in that concierge medicine world. Especially the older generation (again, that can afford it) are able to get more frequent visits and visits of longer duration because the pay plan limits the number of patients each provider accepts.

As shown above, some of the plans can be quite reasonable. Others can be double/triple that amount. It just depends on if the provider is going it alone or is part of a group. Is that group local or regional/national/etc. And IF they accept insurance is a whole other thing as well. So i would say do your homework with your insurance company first. Make sure that you are going to be in-network and covered for things like tests if they are ordered by this provider. Not to mention if any procedures are done (and there really aren't many honestly that can be done in the doctor's office itself), then they may not be covered as a facility. So call your insurance before signing anything.

[Pete]

We have access to Primary Health Partners through our work's insurance, and couldn't recommend it more. Their schedule is very open and I've been able to get in whenever I needed to. If not through insurance, you can pay ~$99/month for it. Worth looking into.

I just started with Primary Health Partners as I received a 2nd very enthusiastic recommendation.

Game changer. On my first visit (where the doctor himself spent a full hour with me) they were giving the pitch about having a "wholesale pharmacy" and I keep the prices for all my meds on my phone, so I was not really listening then he told me that for a 90-day supply of the 5 meds I was taking, they could hand them to me right then and there for $37. That's less than I pay at Sam's after insurance; and it's all there in their office, not having to fight Sam's and stand in line with a bunch of sick people. Their in-house lab prices are way cheaper than DLO even with insurance. I walked out of there with all my meds for 3 months; the insurance-driven model required me to get refills every freaking month.

I am completely sold. It's $99 month and you can stop any time, so not much risk. They have offices all around. Until I really needed doctors, I had no idea that most of them see 15-20 patients a day and thus simply don't have the time or energy to devote to you -- they will readily admit that. But with this service and those like them, it's more like the Private Practice days many of us grew up with and I know a lot of doctors are ditching the insurance-driven model to have more reasonable hours and have more time to actually spend with people.

Part of their service is often being able to get in same-day, an app where you will get a quick response during business hours, and another way to text your doctor directly (for after hours semi-emergencies) 24/7.

I am not dropping insurance as of course you'd still need it for emergency room, hospitals, and specialists but I think if you were on Medicare you could probably be okay with just this service and that government program.

I have a friend that has been using them for a while and there doesn't seem to be a catch.


Can't recommend them highly enough:

https://primary-healthpartners.com/

[sooner88]

I just started with Primary Health Partners as I received a 2nd very enthusiastic recommendation.

Game changer. On my first visit (where the doctor himself spent a full hour with me) they were giving the pitch about have a "wholesale pharmacy" and I keep the prices for all my meds on my phone, so I was not really listening then he told me that for a 90-day supply of the 5 meds I was taking, they could hand them to me right then and there for $37. That's less than I pay at Sam's after insurance; and it's all their in their office, not having to fight Sam's and stand in line with a bunch of sick people. Their in-house lab prices are way cheaper than DLO even with insurance.

I am completely sold. It's $99 month and you can stop any time, so not much risk. They have offices all around. Until I really needed doctors, I had no idea that most of them see 15-20 patients a day and thus simply don't have the time or energy to devote to you -- they will readily admit that. But with this service and those like them, it's more like the Private Practice days many of us grew up with and I know a lot of doctors are ditching the insurance-driven model to have more reasonable hours and have more time to actually spend with people.

Part of their service is often being able to get in same-day, an app where you will get a quick response during business hours, and another way to text your doctor directly (so semi-emergencies) 24/7.

I have a friend that has been using them for a while and there doesn't seem to be a catch.


Can't recommend them highly enough:

https://primary-healthpartners.com/

Glad you had a good experience! It's really refreshing to be able to make an appt for the same day, and have a doctor that will spend as much time as you want with them. The app is great to as you can communicate with your doctor for any questions you may have without needing to go in.

[Pete]

Glad you had a good experience! It's really refreshing to be able to make an appt for the same day, and have a doctor that will spend as much time as you want with them. The app is great to as you can communicate with your doctor for any questions you may have without needing to go in.

It really seems too good to be true.

When I made my first appointment, the very polite woman made it a point to say, "You do not need to be here early." There was not a single person in their waiting room and it's because people don't wait... I didn't even sit down until I was called back. And then upon leaving, the woman at the front desk gave me a little gift bag and said, "Even though you can make future appointments through our app, it would be to your benefit to call me directly because that way I can be sure to accommodate you and make sure all your needs are met." What???

The nurse took my vitals and then said, "I'm Dr. X's nurse and I wanted to make sure you understood our services, so allow me to explain and give you an opportunity to ask questions." Then after that, "You'll see me on future visits but not for very long. The doctor wants to spend as much time face-to-face with you as he can." And then he immediately spent more than an hour, and recommended I come back the next week if I wanted so we could spend more time, as he wanted to review my medical history... and remember, there is no additional charge other than a flat monthly fee.

Certainly, they can raise their prices once you get used to First Class vs. middle-seat Economy, but my insurance premiums have been going through the roof anyway. There just can't be a downside.

[Roger S]

I've been an MDVIP member for about 15 years... The prices have been slowly creeping up but the personal service you get is worth it to me and I get a very thorough yearly wellness examination.

I can call the office and be seen in a few hours and the reception room has 4 seats... The most people I've ever seen in the waiting room is 1. So no sitting in a crowded reception room.

[Pete]

I've been an MDVIP member for about 15 years... The prices have been slowly creeping up but the personal service you get is worth it to me and I get a very thorough yearly wellness examination.

I can call the office and be seen in a few hours and the reception room has 4 seats... The most people I've ever seen in the waiting room is 1. So no sitting in a crowded reception room.

I think we are about the same age? I'm 63.

If you are older or generally have the need to see a doctor more than once a year, it seems this type of service makes a lot of sense. Until I was 55, I didn't even have a primary care physician... Stupid of course, but that's how most people are until they hit the age where they have a regular reason to go. That describes me and I quickly became acquainted with the realities of modern healthcare.

I will also say that I was in the hospital both before and after covid. HUGE difference. You can see many people have left that profession and who can blame them? I was at Mercy last year and went out of my way to choose that hospital because it is generally very nice. I greatly appreciate all the people who still do that work (God Bless them!) but I will just say the difference in quality of care was shocking and I won't be going back into a hospital anytime soon unless it's on a stretcher.

I'm sure this will correct itself with time, but I don't think the primary care situation will. I liked my previous PCP fine given the limitations of the system, but when a friend wanted to see him as a new patient he had to wait over 6 months.

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

My blue cross blue shield insurance covers $25 teladoc visits.

Primary care
Dermatologist
Psychiatrist
Licensed therapist

Same day Primary care availability

Psychiatrist is the one that is very hard to locate locally to get an appointment

But yeah, another option when it's usually weeks if not months to get a visit and prescription with a Primary care doctor.

Pete, how about if you are needing to see a specialist, in house with this place, or is it back to the waitlist?

[Pete]

Pete, how about if you are needing to see a specialist, in house with this place, or is it back to the waitlist?

I don't think they have any special power in that regard but I do believe they would have their staff follow up with whoever was receiving the referral to make sure they followed through.

I've had several referrals through my previous PCP and every time I had to call his office, find out the name and number of whoever I was assigned, then dog the specialist until they called me back. One never did and I just gave up. I only got an endoscopy after briefly switching PCP's, mentioned I had been waiting for months, and the new doc told me the guy I was supposed to see had retired.


Also, I have BCBS and it's nothing like this new service. Tried Teledoc once and they just directed me to urgent care or the ER. It was the general dissatisfaction with BSBS and all insurance-driven healthcare that led me to Primary Health Partners after looking around for years. I still have BCBS, I'll just be using it less but need it as a safety net for specialists, urgent care and hospitals.

[Ward]

The popular term is "concierge care" and that might be a useful search term to locate such.

Best wishes to you.

[sooner88]

My blue cross blue shield insurance covers $25 teladoc visits.

Primary care
Dermatologist
Psychiatrist
Licensed therapist

Same day Primary care availability

Psychiatrist is the one that is very hard to locate locally to get an appointment

But yeah, another option when it's usually weeks if not months to get a visit and prescription with a Primary care doctor.

Pete, how about if you are needing to see a specialist, in house with this place, or is it back to the waitlist?

I'm not sure how this can be combined with Primary Health Partners, but through my work we have additional insurance through the Kempton Group. I use PHP as my primary care, but if there are any specialists or surgeries, etc. that need to be done as long as we use a physician through their KPPFree program there is $0 out of pocket for those procedures or meetings. You have to do a little work, but the groups that are included are all highly reputable. We've had coworkers with breast cancer that didn't pay a single dollar out of pocket, including co-pays, for every step along the way.

[The]

I'm not sure how this can be combined with Primary Health Partners, but through my work we have additional insurance through the Kempton Group. I use PHP as my primary care, but if there are any specialists or surgeries, etc. that need to be done as long as we use a physician through their KPPFree program there is $0 out of pocket for those procedures or meetings. You have to do a little work, but the groups that are included are all highly reputable. We've had coworkers with breast cancer that didn't pay a single dollar out of pocket, including co-pays, for every step along the way.

That’s nice. Who do you work for?