State Orders Dr. John Muney to Stop Treating Patients for $79/month

[MushyMushy]

Ours doesn't have anything, they will send you to get all of that stuff done.

Same here. We even have to go to the hospital to get simple blood work done.

 

[manning]

But insurance companies aren't complaining, at least not yet. The government, in the 'person' of the State of New York, is.

Do you really think this medical professional is such a bad business person that he would overextend himself, or not have a backup plan in place?

And how do you account for, or treat, people who don't HAVE insurance?

Oh, and the physicians to whom daisax refers charge a LOT more than $79 per year membership fee.

The insurance companies are complaining. They are doing it thru the state.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

This is government - pure and simple...

 

[manning]

The doctor is offering his services at what he thinks he can live with. He has freed himself of bureaucratic paperwork. He has freed himself from having an insurance company telling him how to treat a patient based on what they think is cost effective. The relationship is one on one, doctor and patient.

I live in the chicago area. About a year or so back I heard about a doctor who tried this. He was upfront with his patient. He told them he doesn't have malpractice insurance and would charge reasonable rates. It was up to the patient if he wanted to use him for a doctor. They knew up front what to expect.

He would refer his patients to specialists when needed. All of a sudden the specialists started to turn him down.

What he found out was they were being told by their insurance companies that if they accepted his patients their insurance would be cancelled.

If this doctor is giving good competent care at a reasonable price, what's the problem? If he can't do it at that cost he will have to find another way to charge.

Why should the government dictate what he can/can't do. And that looks like the way we are going.

Talk about a third party, the insurance company, dictating what a doctor can/can't do.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The insurance companies are complaining. They are doing it thru the state.

If that's true, then insurance companies should come forward and admit it - not hide behind the coattails of government regulations.

Dr. Muney's plan is for, according to at least one source (I read the blog and all the links), UNinsured patients. That means they're not covered by insurance (no, I'm really not talking down to anyone - except maybe those insurance companies), most likely due to cost. I know one of my coworkers recently had to obtain outside insurance and it's expensive - WAY more than $1,000 per year.

So if he's serving patients the insurance companies can't or won't, by either their choice (cost) or the patients', where is the problem?

 

[npmommie]

The doctor is offering his services at what he thinks he can live with. He has freed himself of bureaucratic paperwork. He has freed himself from having an insurance company telling him how to treat a patient based on what they think is cost effective. The relationship is one on one, doctor and patient.

I live in the chicago area. About a year or so back I heard about a doctor who tried this. He was upfront with his patient. He told them he doesn't have malpractice insurance and would charge reasonable rates. It was up to the patient if he wanted to use him for a doctor. They knew up front what to expect.

He would refer his patients to specialists when needed. All of a sudden the specialists started to turn him down.

What he found out was they were being told by their insurance companies that if they accepted his patients their insurance would be cancelled.

If this doctor is giving good competent care at a reasonable price, what's the problem? If he can't do it at that cost he will have to find another way to charge.

Why should the government dictate what he can/can't do. And that looks like the way we are going.

Talk about a third party, the insurance company, dictating what a doctor can/can't do.

First of all its foolish to work without malpractice insurance, and i think it is required for reimbursement purposes for insurance,
i know I had to provide proof of my malpractice insurance when paperwork was put in to all the insurers to add me as a provider.
so that is probably why they did not take his patients.

 

[npmommie]

How about to avoid being called insurance this doctor charges the patient $79 for the first office visit each month then $10 for any other visit that month,
then he gets the $79 monthly fee and it doesn't look like "insurance"

 

[browneyes106]

I feel bad for Dr. Muney he is basically trying to help people get services and he is being punished for it.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I definitely can see a problem with this.

I think it would be better for him to allow his patients to set up comfortable payment plans, if his main concern is for his patients.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Here are a few facts.
He does accept Medicare as well as one private health plan.
One has to "join" his group and sign a contract that looks to me to be insurance, but I'm not a lawyer, (http://amgmedicalgroup.com/pdf/MEMBERSHIP-AGREEMENT.pdf).
He has 5 locations and about 8 docs . . . it isn't a small "mom and pop" practice
Here's a list of services that he advertises on his web site (http://amgmedicalgroup.com/index.html).

• Medical Care (routine & preventive)

o EKG
o Echocardiogram
o Holter Monitor
o Pulmonary Function Test (Spirometry)
o Urinalysis
o Blood sugar
o Fecal occult blood test
o PPD (skin test for tuberculosis)
o Vitamin B-12 and Allergy shot (steroid)
o Ear Irrigation for wax
o Flu Vaccine
o Nebulizer Treatment with oxygen concentrator
o Rapid strep test
o IM/IV treatments
o Weight Loss Management
o Tetanus vaccine after open wounds
o Allergy testing through blood test
o Vascular studies (Venous, carotid, peripheral duplex scans)

• Office Based surgical care

o Repair of laceration
o Excision of benign skin lesions
o Excision of malignant skin lesions
o Shaving of skin lesions
o Mole removal –skin biopsy
o Skin Tag removal
o Sebaceous cyst removal
o Lipoma removal
o Warts (genital, sole, hand)
o Partial of full nail removal for fungus in ingrown toe nail
o Ligation of varicose vein branches
o Joint injections (steroid)
o Tendon injections (steroid)
o Facet joint injections
o Ganglion cyst removal
o Repair of split ear lobes
o Fine needle aspiration (Thyroid, Breast)
o Excision of breast mass (Lumpectomy when possible)
o Lymph node biopsy
o I & D of abscess
o Application of splint
o Application of cast for minor non-displaced fractures
o Trigger point injections
o Wound care with debridement

• Gynecological Care

o Pap smear
o Pregnancy test
o Family Planning

• Pediatrics

o Childhood immunization
o Audiometry

• Urgent Care during office hours

• Physical Therapy (Manhattan Only)

• Lab Test (blood,urine,stool),

• Imaging: x-rays, sonograms

• Second opinions

• Pre-surgical testing

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

How about to avoid being called insurance this doctor charges the patient $79 for the first office visit each month then $10 for any other visit that month,
then he gets the $79 monthly fee and it doesn't look like "insurance"

And a higher fee if he/she disn't visit last month? This only makes sense for the doctor, at this rate, if there is a minimum of 1 visit per month if he set his rates based on the associated costs...

 

[portocall]

From what I am seeing, this is not "affordable" as it is only for his care. If I need a specialist, I would not be able to go to them at an "affordable" price as well. Since I only tend to go to my family doctor once in a blue moon, I would be wasting a ton of money.

Now, with what I would agree with... charge an affordable rate for each visit and then a more affordable castostrophic coverage only.(cancer, strookes, heart attacks, that kind of thing)

 

[Pin Wizard]

What a bunch of garbage. How is this any different than the "concierge" physicians out there but on the other side of the spectrum. Some at over $1,000 a year, some at $10,000 a year, some at $15,000 a year! And the last link mentions something in it regarding how "complex" you are. If you're too "complex," they won't treat you. Frightening! Just a sampling...

http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/news/2009/0130/front_page/006.html


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/health/30patient.html?pagewanted=print


http://www.filife.com/stories/health-matters2


http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/9678384/c_9747262?f=insidecfo

 

[arminnie]

My internist has been doing this for years. But the cost is $2000 a year. She strictly limits the number of patients she will accept and has a long waiting list.

She has not accepted any insurance in over a decade (including medicare). She does not do this for any financial reasons. She just likes to control how she practices medicine. No dictates from insurance companies or Medicare.

I recently gave up my slot since I live 2000 miles away - but I kept it for several years until I got a local doctor "trained". I miss being able to have a 30 minute appointment or even an hour or two for my yearly physical.

I have a very, very good internist now - but I do miss the personalized care that I had before. It was well worth it. It's only the distance that made me quit.

I think the only real issue here is that the doctor probably did not have a good lawyer draw up an adequate agreement.

 

[ntsammy5]

And we wonder why people hate politicians. Well, maybe not wonder, what a bunch of bureaucratic bozos.

 

[manning]

I definitely can see a problem with this.

I think it would be better for him to allow his patients to set up comfortable payment plans, if his main concern is for his patients.

Explain the probleim you see.

 

[manning]

How about to avoid being called insurance this doctor charges the patient $79 for the first office visit each month then $10 for any other visit that month,
then he gets the $79 monthly fee and it doesn't look like "insurance"

That's what he is doing, $10 per visit.

 

[Charade]

Insane.

Aren't we trying to provide health care at reasonable costs to people who can least afford it?

Maybe he should just charge $89 for the first visit in a month then $10 for everyone after that.

 

[Charade]

I definitely can see a problem with this.

I think it would be better for him to allow his patients to set up comfortable payment plans, if his main concern is for his patients.

The Dr. (and his patients) seem to have already worked that out.

What do you mean "if"?

 

[manning]

My internist has been doing this for years. But the cost is $2000 a year. She strictly limits the number of patients she will accept and has a long waiting list.

She has not accepted any insurance in over a decade (including medicare). She does not do this for any financial reasons. She just likes to control how she practices medicine. No dictates from insurance companies or Medicare.

I miss being able to have a 30 minute appointment or even an hour or two for my yearly physical.

.

This may be one smart internist. if you run the numbers at $2,000 per patient then

300 is $600,000
400 is $800,000
500 is $1,000,000

Maybe, just maybe if enough doctors do this we would not need UHC. Just think my health concerns would be between me and my doctor!!


300