Hundreds of physicians from around the country gathered in Orlando, Florida, last week to strategize successful withdrawal from the nation’s collapsing health care system and how to improve health care using a new model: direct primary care.
Direct primary care practices displace higher-cost “concierge” medicine model with monthly subscription fees often ranging from $50-$125. Independent physicians build moderate bases of 400-600 members with flat fee costs and limited overhead. Direct primary care works independently of insurance, remaining autonomous in a progressively nationalized health industry. Thousands of physicians have adopted the model.
“The one-size-fits-all approach of government to Covid demonstrates the need of personalized care that fits the needs of the community,” said Dr. Lee Gross, president of Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes direct primary care. “Practices need to be nimble and free of huge regulatory burden so that they can rapidly meet the changing needs of their community. It also shows that the financial influence of third-party payers controls how physicians are able to care for their patients.”
Gross, emcee of the conference, said his organization works on regulation, patient education to grow demand, and finding more physicians to follow the direct primary care........