DPC May Be a Leg
A recent piece in the Wall St. Journal, by Jame Capretta and Scott Gottlieb, spoke about how Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), the next secretary of Health and Human Services, “offers a generational opportunity to pursue a new direction for American health care.” What direction is that? Well, the authors feel it “should be fully consumer driven, empowering individuals to be the surveyors and purchasers of their care.” I like that already. Skin in the game. Americans are great shoppers. What else? They feel the plan should be comprised of four legs that will:
- Provide a path to catastrophic health insurance for all Americans.
- Accommodate people with pre-existing health conditions.
- Allow broad access to health-savings accounts
- Deregulate the market for medical services
I like all these and have written about them individually and extensively over the past 15 years here at the Authentic Medicine Gazette. But what intrigues me the most was in section #4. Here is a quote from the linked article:
For example, those consumers who maintain HSA balances should be allowed to use their resources to purchase direct care—basic services that keep people healthy and treat illnesses and chronic conditions—from physician groups. This might take the form of a monthly fee, a practice sometimes referred to as direct primary care. Today, this could be considered an insurance premium that’s barred by law.
Finally, these guys get it! We are validated. Direct primary care is a critical piece or leg in fixing our broken healthcare system.
The next part, in my opinion, is truly defining DPC so the same idiots (administrators) don’t try to co-opt it as their own and ruin. That time is coming. We need to be prepared. Real DPC clinics are physician owned with each patient having their own doctor and NOT a “team”. More to come on this.
