This past week I learned more about MDVIP Inc…a rather new way for physicians to lighten their workload without lightening their wallets. I totally understand the concept and sympathize with physicians who are on the Medicare hamster wheel. But I cannot afford the extra fees I would need to pay to keep my present doctor. I went to his patient forum/presentation on Tuesday evening. I thought I would have to find a new doctor soon anyway because I knew he was retirement age. I’m hoping that one of my former students from Sayre School, who is now practicing here in Lexington (and who is the physician for two of our members here at Aging With Grace) will accept me as a new patient.

MDVIP is more of a national company than I knew, and has access to more health benefits than I knew, like shorter wait times to get into specialty hospitals like Johns Hopkins. And like the ability to use specialty equipment that might not be authorized otherwise, like a hyperbaric chamber. Being a national company means being able to see an MDVIP doctor in another city if one is on vacation or traveling for work. I also learned that our doctor will transfer us to another doctor of his choosing if we do not find one of our own. And I learned he is currently treating 3,300 patients and in his new practice he will be serving 600.

One woman at the forum voiced her disappointment that she was being asked to cough up even more money for quality care when she already pays outrageous health insurance premiums. Another woman said will our premiums be lower because we are using MDVIP and statistics show that MDVIP patients fare better…less hospital stays because of the focus on prevention.

My ideal doctor/patient/insurance plan that I have been talking about for years would solve so many problems.

My ideal plan is for the doctor to only have 300 patients. Then each patient would give their doctor 300 dollars a month instead of paying health insurance premiums. In this plan, it would be in the doctor’s best interest to keep his patients healthy, or else he would be out some money. Of course, the doctor could possibly buy some kind of policy to insure his patients against catastrophic health events that are out of his control for not very much money, but I still think the shift of responsibility for keeping patients healthy would be on the shoulders of the doctor, who in turn should incentivize his patients to take responsibility for their own health too. After all, the doctor cannot control how many soft drinks or donuts his patients consume, or how much they exercise, or if they abstain from alcohol, cigarettes, etc. But he could threaten to discharge them as his patient if they were non compliant. I think doctors should hold classes for their patients to teach them good health habits like how to eat well, what kind of exercises and how much they should exercise. I think they should also pay a nurse to go to each patient’s house at least once a year to make sure their house is conducive to their health.

After all, isn’t 300 a month times 300 patients enough money for a doctor to earn, even after paying the nurse and the catastrophic health insurance?