Expert predicts surge of hybrid concierge care in Texas

Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas in general are hot markets for a relatively new health care concept that allows patients to choose to pay a fee for concierge service from their physician or to continue receiving care traditionally, according to an expert in the field.

I wrote Thursday about a Dallas gynecologist, Dr. Connie Casad, who has switched to a model known as hybrid concierge care. The change gives her patients the choice to stay with the practice and see her physician's assistant for their gynecologic needs, or pay $1,800 a year and join the concierge program for more personalized care from Casad.

This morning I talked with Wayne Lipton, managing partner at Concierge Choice Physicians LLC in New York City. He tells me more and more Texas docs are exploring the hybrid model, in large part because they expect Medicare and private insurance reimbursements to plunge as Obamacare is phased in.

"We anticipate that Texas will be one of the biggest growth states (for hybrid concierge)," he said.

The hybrid model is good for physicians because it's good for patients, Lipton said.

"In the last six months, there's been a huge upswing on the part of physicians (nationwide) interested in the hybrid model because it's something that rewards excellence by the judge who should be the judge and that's the patient," he said. "The patient makes the decision. It's a consumer-driven model."

Casad?s concierge practice includes an executive-style physical (which for her includes a PAP exam), same- or next-day appointment scheduling, a direct phone line to Casad and her help with care coordination such as helping patients find other specialists if needed. The physical alone typically retails for more than $2,000, Casad said.

Bill covers health care, law, education and nonprofits.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_35/~3/q0SDnWmon-Y/expert-predicts-surge-of-hybrid.html

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