At the beginning of this year, I received an email from my doctor, who informed me her practice would be switching to a membership model. “I have found myself at a crossroads—to either continue practicing high-volume medicine or evolve my practice to deliver more personalized medical care via the concierge model,” she wrote in the announcement email. Concierge health is a type of practice that promises patients more time with their doctor and more comprehensive healthcare. My doctor wrote that she would see fewer patients more consistently under the new arrangement. To get in, I would have to pay a yearly fee of $1,850 in addition to my health insurance. The pandemic has put an incredible strain on primary care doctors. Approximately 16,000 physician practices closed because of COVID-19, according to a survey from Physicians Foundation
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My doctor wants me to pay a yearly subscription fee—and that’s increasingly common