ConciergePhysicians

One of the issues faced by doctors deciding to move into concierge medicine is whether their insurance companies will keep them on their panels. As we know, it is virtually impossible to predict what certain companies may do. A recent article in the Houston Chronicle sheds some light on what some companies in Texas are doing. Here are the first few sentences of the article that you can find at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5618372.html “Doctors who charge an annual fee to patients in exchange for customized care including house calls are drawing the ire of some health insurance companies. United Healthcare confirmed it is dropping four local doctors from its network in April because the company disapproves of their so-called “concierge medicine” model. Cigna is also condemning the practice, in which physicians charge an annual retainer of $1,500 to $1,800 for patients who then receive more personal care. Cigna would not say whether it is dropping any Houston-area physicians, but spokeswoman Gwyn Dilday said, ‘Charging membership fees to guarantee access is a violation of our contract terms and may result in termination.’”