Government
Concierge arrangements not causing Medicare access problems so far
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 26, 2005
A Government Accountability Office report says that because there are so few concierge practices around the United States, they are unlikely to cause problems in access to care for beneficiaries of the Medicare program.
The report, which was released in August, includes data collected from 112 concierge practices. It weighs the information against relevant laws and Medicare policies. In recent years, concierge practices, in which members pay a monthly or annual fee for extra services, such as same-day, extended appointments and 24-hour telephone access, have gained national attention as an alternative to the insurance bureaucracy. But with such a small group of physicians attempting to make the transition, "concierge care does not present a systemic access problem among Medicare beneficiaries at this time," according to the report.
Earlier, the Health and Human Services Dept. determined that concierge arrangements are legal if membership fees doctors charge do not cover services already covered by Medicare. Nearly all of the GAO survey respondents said they bill Medicare for covered services, but some have asked for more government guidance related to the membership fee arrangement, the report said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/09/26/gvbf0926.htm.
