If the Affordable Care Act was a car, I’d call it a rusty Pinto… maybe drives; possibly street legal; not particularly sexy or comfortable; could explode; but still gets a lot of folks where they need to go. Unfortunately, it’s new driver is an alcoholic.
Who here has seen their rates come down? Ours (Anthem) just jumped to $900+/month, though adding a baby is a confounder. We also recently received notice Anthem is pulling out, so we need to find a new carrier. (We actually have a patient now who has pet insurance, but no health insurance.)
Pre-R is a reaction to a terrible system that keeps heading south, and our hope now is to help other medical professionals to react as well. For many years doctors in particular have been leaving private practice for the relative shelter, simplicity and revenue of larger hospital systems. But their sacrifice in autonomy and relationships with patients has been immense.
The past three years of this Pre-R experiment have led to some of my favorite doctor/patient interactions and relationships. We know our neighbors now because of Pre-R, and we have a much better idea about the resources available within the community. We have a better sense for costs of diagnostic studies and meds. And we’ve met and helped patients who haven’t left their homes in years.
While there will always be a place for clinics and hospitals, we feel that staying home has incredible value. Frankly, we wish bricks and mortar medical operations would offer more home care and telemedicine services too, especially for the elderly and for anyone with infectious diseases.
So for any readers here who are medical professionals (doctors, NPs, therapists, dental hygienists, etc.) with private practices, especially those who offer telemedicine and house calls, we want to help you to thrive. We also want to help anyone in medicine who may be burnt out, or considering retirement. (Pretty sure I’ll be happy to keep suturing, draining abscesses and stamping out UTIs indefinitely.)
If that applies to you, give us a shout. We’ve put together a how-to FAQ guide which we’re happy to share.
As insurance rates and other medical charges soar, and as doctors and others in medicine head for the hills, the need for this sort of medicine will only be increasing in years to come. And even if the pendulum somehow swings towards universal healthcare instead, I’m certain we’ll still have a role.
