“…the average wait to see a new family doctor in this country is just under three weeks …But in Boston, Mass …which enacted a law…that established near-universal coverage—the wait is about two months.”
“ When demand exceeds supply, doctors have a great deal of flexibility about who they see and when they see them…For…services covered by Medicare, the typical wait to see a doctor was two or three weeks.”
“…other treatments not covered by Medicare (and for which patients pay the market price out of pocket), appointments to see those same doctors were often available on the same day…”
“As physicians increasingly have to allocate their time, patients in plans that pay below-market prices will likely wait longest…”
“Their wait will only become longer as more and more Americans turn to concierge medicine for their care…[C]oncierge medicine basically means that patients pay doctors to be their agents, rather than the agents of third-party-payers…”
“…A typical primary-care physician has about 2,500 patients… but when he opens a concierge practice, he’ll typically take about 500 patients with him…[T]he 2,000 patients left behind now must find another physician…”
“I predict that in the next several years concierge medicine will grow rapidly… those who can afford it getting more care and better care.”
“In the meantime, the most vulnerable populations will have less access to care than they had before ObamaCare became law.”
Why the Doctor Can’t See You
August 14, 2012
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443404004577578980699719356.html?KEYWORDS=goodman