Portage doctor doesn't accept insurance, charges patients a monthly subscription fee for unlimited v [View all]

[Sunlei]

Portage doctor doesn't accept insurance, charges patients a monthly subscription fee for unlimited visits

9/1/2017


PORTAGE — Dr. Timothy Ames had a traditional primary care practice for a quarter of a century, starting in 1987. He grew increasingly incensed by the bureaucratic obstacles being put in the way of doctors caring for patients. So he went nontraditional. At his new practice, he doesn't accept insurance of any kind. He charges patients a monthly subscription fee for unlimited visits. He is available by phone, by text, after hours.


"In this practice, if it does good to talk to a patient for an hour, I will. If the very best thing is to see them today, I have the flexibility to do that. If a telephone call is helpful, I don't have to worry about how to bill and code for a telephone call. It really allows me to think creatively about how I deliver care to my patients without worrying about how to document my appointments to meet the requirements of the insurance companies."


Ames practices so-called direct primary care, also known as concierge or subscription medicine. Marilyn Carter, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Medical Association, called direct primary care an "emerging and evolving" niche in Indiana. About a dozen, or less than 1 percent, of the association's 8,300 members work in concierge medicine. The nearest to Northwest Indiana are in Plymouth and Mishawaka.

The most recent update of the medical billing coding system increased the number of codes to 68,000 from 14,000. Plus, with the huge number of insurance policies, doctor's offices require now require large administrative staffs just to operate. That means they must see as many patients as possible in a day to pay for all that overhead.

http://www.nwitimes.com/niche/get-healthy/health-care/portage-doctor-doesn-t-accept-insurance-charges-patients-a-monthly/article_f1e57991-6878-549d-baf3-3252c81d1610.html