The very rich can afford the very best of everything—including now healthcare too. A recent New York Times article reported on the nascent trend of ultra-high-end concierge healthcare services that are catching on in wealthy areas in places such as New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The article said: “Just as a virtual velvet rope has risen between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else on airplanes, cruise ships and amusement parks, widening inequality is also transforming how health care is delivered.”
It means, for example, being able to reroute the ambulance you’re in to a top hospital rather than a local medical center, and it means being met there by a specialist rather than a regular E.R. doctor. It means no-wait time to be examined, or no rushing once you’re with the doctor. It means doctors making house calls, or even office calls, for your convenience. It means getting appointments with the most in-demand specialists and being placed in the most luxurious hospital rooms.
Those with more means have always had access to better care, including the latest treatments, the best facilities, and the finest physicians, and “concierge practices, where patients pay several thousand dollars a year so they can quickly reach their primary care doctor, with guaranteed same-day appointments, have been around for decades.”
But the higher-end of this niche is growing, with some private medical groups charging 10 times more than traditional concierge practices—in the range of $40,000 to $80,000 per family annually, which “covers the cost of visits, all tests and procedures in the office, house calls and just about anything else other than hospitalization, as well as personalized annual health plans and detailed quarterly goals for each patient.”
All this, as many Americans struggle to pay for healthcare and may lose it altogether if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or reformed, is making healthcare disparity even more stark.
Transparency in healthcare cost would go a long way toward helping anyone, regardless of their wealth, get necessary care—because it would enable them to price-shop for the most affordable care. Healthclx.com delivers that transparency, uncovering the hidden costs of healthcare and putting it online for consumers who already seek price information before making nearly every other purchase. Healthclx empowers patients to make smart decisions about their health and their money.
Source –
New York Times: “The doctor is in. Co-pay? $40,000.”
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