The health care system in the US is out of control. The fees continue to rise, the challenges with the insurance carriers and the medical providers continue to be strained and the end consumer continues to be at the short end of the stick. Personally, our insurance carrier for Hakano, has had continued billing and internal problems with our coverage since we received it. Getting bills paid by the insurance company is an arduous and emotional process. Even after spending 30 minutes on the phone with the insurance company 3 weeks ago because of a mistake they admitted they made in their own billing — one week later I got a notice telling us that our insurance had been canceled. Arg!!! I’m convinced it’s a game they play to try and increase their profits – there are few other free-market industries where this is tolerable.
Enough is enough. I have no idea what the solution to this growing problem is. I’m not a fan of having the government attempt to provide coverage – we know what happens when the government tries to manage anything. However, everyone should be able to — in some fashion — have access to reasonable, affordable medical coverage. In Georgia, at least is the metro atlanta area, there is an option: My Georgia Doctor.
What a really cool idea. I found out about this business after having lunch with Andy Greider the other day.
The idea is that there is a flat-fee ($500) per year for medical services such as:
- Annual Physical (age and gender specific)
- Unlimited Primary Care Visits to any of our Doctors at any of our Clinics
- Urgent Care Facility Open 7 Days a Week
- Discounted Radiological and Lab Services
You Pay Once and for the Rest of the Year – No Co-Pays, No Deductibles and No Charges for your Primary Care.
How cool is that? There are clinics in 12 metro locations including Dunwoody, Duluth, Stone Mountain and Alpharetta to name just a few. Also, there is no pre-qualification – everyone is approved.
Andy was telling me a couple of heart-wrenching stories of people they’ve helped who couldn’t get normal insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions and who were suffering with medical problems and without coverage — and how much it’s changed their lives since they were able to gain access to this plan.
We need more of this out-of-the-box thinking by the medical leadership community. I’m glad that Atlanta is continuing it’s leadership in the medical community – one more step at a time.
technorati tags: mygeorgiadoctor, atlanta, georgia, medical, insurance, health, doctor, clinic
Popularity: 4% [?]
Other popular articles you might enjoy:
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
