Will Concierge Medical Impact Healthcare?
Concierge service has long been a popular perk at upscale hotels. This high-end concept has made its way into the healthcare industry, where so-called “boutique medicine” has been raising questions about ethics and legality.
What Is Concierge Care?
With concierge care, patients pay an annual retainer fee ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. In return, they receive an elite level of service that can include same-day appointments, longer examination times and 24/7 access to their physician.
The business world views concierge service as a brilliant opportunity, but other reactions have been mixed. Some physicians and healthcare advocates fear the practice will shift resources to the wealthy at the expense of the underprivileged, while others claim that it’s a logical outgrowth of a socioeconomic structure that is already class-based.
The Legal View of Concierge Care
So far, the government has not been on the side of concierge care.
- In 2003, the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services declared that concierge care agreements violate the state’s requirement prohibiting network healthcare providers from discriminating against any individuals. Carriers were put on notice that all such agreements “should be terminated immediately.”
- The New York State Department of Health followed suit in 2004 with an official statement denouncing concierge medicine within HMOs.
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