Armstrong on Direct Primary Care

Dr. Richard Armstrong has published a nice piece, "How Direct Primary Care Is Serving as a Health Care Solution".

An excerpt:

Combined with other straightforward alternatives to the Affordable Care Act, such as Health Savings Accounts and High-Deductible Health Insurance plans, Direct Primary Care practices could fill a glaring hole in America’s health care system by allowing patients direct access to their personal physicians for a fee comparable to what they pay for their cell phones each month.

But one potential barrier to the growth of Direct Primary Care is the question of whether these practices can be regulated as “insurers.” Direct Primary Care providers have been concerned they could be labeled by states as “risk-bearing entities” when they provide health care in exchange for a monthly fee, and thus be forced to be licensed and regulated as insurers...

Fortunately, some states (like Michigan) appear poised to recognize that these practices are not "insurance companies".  Let's hope other states (and the federal government) follow suit.

For more details on one promising alternative to ObamaCare, see the Docs4PatientCare Foundation "Physician's Prescription for Health Care Reform".