Insurance and pharmaceutical companies have destroyed the medical profession as we older people once knew it to be. Big groups like Multicare, Kaiser, and Chi Franciscan here in Pacific Northwest have taken over the solo practice doctors who cannot afford to compete. I’ve discussed this with at least 4 different practitioners who I saw when first getting involved with the docs on the west coast, having moved to Seattle, WA from southern New Jersey around the year 2000.
Over time, my annual medical visits got shorter and the same doctor was gone. It was not a problem for me until I needed prescription drugs for high blood pressure about three years ago. At this point, I wanted consistency in my medical care. Constant changing of doctors is, quite frankly, scary to me.
I had read about a new type of medical practice in my area called One Medical for Seniors. This is for Medicare patients, 65 and older. Great idea, I thought. Well, they changed their name a couple of times, and then Amazon bought them out. They still stand for Seniors, but the practice has gone the way of all other groups. Anyone can buy One Medical care from Amazon. Imagine this now. Telehealth replacing in-person visits. Absurd AND reality!
Because of it’s importance to me and because I can, I now pay a fee every month to a solo practitioner (whether I need care that month or not), who considers herself “a concierge doctor”; this is aside from regular insurance, just for the privilege of when I do need it, to be able to sit down for as long as necessary with someone who really knows and cares about who I am. These so-called doctors are rare because most decent docs have fled the field, not being able to, or not willing to compete with the conglomerates.
I did not expect to have to pay out-of-pocket money (above Medicare and medi-gap insurances) after retirement for the medical care we once had in our country. Unfortunately the environment in our country is far from the one I grew up in. So many things are better in our world, and in so many obvious and hidden ways we pay for them.
Insurance and pharmaceutical companies have destroyed the medical profession as we older people once knew it to be. Big groups like Multicare, Kaiser, and Chi Franciscan here in Pacific Northwest have taken over the solo practice doctors who cannot afford to compete. I’ve discussed this with at least 4 different practitioners who I saw when first getting involved with the docs on the west coast, having moved to Seattle, WA from southern New Jersey around the year 2000.
Over time, my annual medical visits got shorter and the same doctor was gone. It was not a problem for me until I needed prescription drugs for high blood pressure about three years ago. At this point, I wanted consistency in my medical care. Constant changing of doctors is, quite frankly, scary to me.
I had read about a new type of medical practice in my area called One Medical for Seniors. This is for Medicare patients, 65 and older. Great idea, I thought. Well, they changed their name a couple of times, and then Amazon bought them out. They still stand for Seniors, but the practice has gone the way of all other groups. Anyone can buy One Medical care from Amazon. Imagine this now. Telehealth replacing in-person visits. Absurd AND reality!
Because of it’s importance to me and because I can, I now pay a fee every month to a solo practitioner (whether I need care that month or not), who considers herself “a concierge doctor”; this is aside from regular insurance, just for the privilege of when I do need it, to be able to sit down for as long as necessary with someone who really knows and cares about who I am. These so-called doctors are rare because most decent docs have fled the field, not being able to, or not willing to compete with the conglomerates.
I did not expect to have to pay out-of-pocket money (above Medicare and medi-gap insurances) after retirement for the medical care we once had in our country. Unfortunately the environment in our country is far from the one I grew up in. So many things are better in our world, and in so many obvious and hidden ways we pay for them.