It’s common (and understandable) for urgent care operators and providers to feel undercompensated by payers for the services they provide. The quality of care is excellent, typically, and the cost savings passed along to insurers every time a patient can avoid going to the emergency room is almost incalculable. And yet, those insurers impose policies that make it very difficult for reimbursements to match the presumed value of urgent care. Workplace efficiencies can only go so far toward reducing costs and increasing profitability, so some operators look for new approaches. One, Highland Urgent Care and Family Medicine in Atlanta, is giving concierge medicine a try. As reported by Fox 5 Atlanta, Nick Beaulieu, MD opted to stop taking insurance in favor of offering unlimited office visits to patients for $100 a month. There are no copays or additional fees regardless of the exact services provided or how long the visit lasts. “When I see you, I’m going to have half an hour, 45 minutes, an hour to see you,”
Beaulieu is quoted as saying in the report. The downside for the patient is that there’s no accommodation when they need referral to a specialist after visiting Highland, though Beaulieu notes that the practice has negotiated reduced rates for patients who need additional labs. It’s too soon to know how many patients the move will attract (or repel) or how profitable it will be in the end.