Fed Up With Obamacare, Doctors Increasingly Prefer Cash For Care

Dr. Sally Pipes describes in this article an important option for patients concerned about the quality and availability of health care services to keep in mind as they notice growing bureaucratic restrictions on their choice of health care providers, diagnostic testing and procedures under increasing govt regulation: More doctors may be looking to cut out the progressively increasing paper work and extra-ordinary time and money-wasting and cost -inflating effects of government and insurance middle men through direct contracting with patients and direct payment for medical services: "Obamacare’s most intrusive changes to the healthcare marketplace — including the individual mandate whereby Americans must secure health insurance or pay a fine and its massive expansion of Medicaid — are less than a year from taking effect. Many doctors have decided that they’re not interested in seeing how those changes play out in their own practices. Nearly two-thirds of doctors say that they or their colleagues will retire earlier than planned over the next few years, according to a survey conducted by consulting firm Deloitte. Others are considering a departure from the current system of third-party payment. Instead, they’re exploring direct payment, with patients paying for care on their own. Patients should welcome this development. Not only does the move toward direct payment have the potential to reduce health costs — it could also yield higher-quality care..... Nearly 7 percent of doctors say they are planning to change to some form of direct-pay care in the next three years, according to a survey of 13,000 doctors done for the Physicians Foundation. The consulting firm Accenture projects that one in three doctors in independent practice will adopt “subscription-based care models.” One direct payment model that’s growing in popularity is “concierge” care, whereby doctors charge a monthly or annual fee for care — and bypass the administrative headaches associated with insurance and government programs altogether. The American Academy of Private Physicians — which represents cash-only doctors — estimates that the number of concierge doctors has shot up 30 percent in just the last year. Examples of these practices abound...."