The health situation in the United States worries both ordinary Americans and many doctors. The first is not satisfied with the cost of expensive medical services, the latter by a system that forces them to pursue the number of patients.
The average cost of health insurance in 2016 exceeds $ 18 thousand, but this is not the main problem. According to the poll, 51% of Americans use policies with high deductibles - if the cost of medical services does not exceed $ 1 thousand, they do not get a cent from the insurer.
Patients conclude contracts with physicians, where monthly fees are paid in a fixed amount - usually from $ 50 to $ 150. In return, they get access to basic medical services, such as doctor's consultation and basic tests, and can buy drugs and order tests laboratory at a very favorable price. In many DPC programs, patients can even communicate with physicians remotely - for example, to receive online advice during their vacations.
Doctors love this model too - they become independent of clinical management and can concentrate on helping patients rather than trying to "push" as many consultations as possible within one business day.
Of course, the DPC can not completely replace health insurance - this complements more than that, reducing patient costs for basic medical services. And in case of serious health problems, which can lead to high costs, "heavy artillery" goes into effect on insurance companies.
One of the first players in this market was the Qliance company, based in Washington state in 2007 and managed to attract investment from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and founder of Dell Michael Della. In 2017, Qliance boasted 25,000 patients, but in May the same year closed - the company fell victim to credit fraud, and two major corporate clients refused to renew their contracts.
Insurance companies, as expected, are DPCs with considerable criticism. They argue that patients bear unnecessary costs, since primary health care is included in most insurance contracts.
Even so, the popularity of DPC growing rapidly. Four years ago, only 125 clinics and private practice doctors worked in the US on this model, but by 2017 their number had increased to 620, and in March this year to 790. And, apparently, it would continue to grow - for health insurance the possibility of recovery and not bankrupt attracts more and more Americans.