What concierge medicine actually costs
The most common question I get from prospective patients is what the membership costs. Fair question. The honest answer depends on the practice and the level of access.
Concierge memberships range widely, roughly $1,500 to $25,000 a year. A practice that charges $2,000 and carries 600 patients operates very differently from one that charges $10,000 and carries 50. The fee reflects the panel size, the access level, whether house calls are included, and whether the practice bills insurance on top of the membership.
For the specifics of my practice, ask me directly. I'd rather tell you my actual fee and what it covers in context than post a number that doesn't explain itself.
What you're paying for
The membership fee doesn't replace insurance. It covers something insurance was never designed to provide: access to the physician and the physician's time. In my practice specifically, the membership covers:
- Same-day or next-day visits when you need them
- 30 to 60 minute appointments instead of 7-minute ones
- Direct access to my cell phone, 24/7, for text or call
- House calls throughout Palm Beach County
- Coordination of your specialist, hospital, imaging, and lab care
- A panel capped at 50 patients, not 2,500
I don't bill insurance. My practice is private-pay. That keeps the billing simple and keeps me accountable to you rather than to an insurance company.
The hidden costs of traditional care
Traditional primary care looks cheap on paper. When you count what you actually spend, the picture is different.
Lost time from taking half a day off for a 10-minute appointment, plus the three weeks of wait before it. Urgent care and ER visits when your doctor can't see you in time, which run $200 to $2,000 per visit with insurance. Missed diagnoses and delayed action because rushed visits don't catch things early. Specialist referrals for problems a primary care doctor would have handled with more time. The stress of not being able to reach your doctor when something worries you.
Add it up over a year and traditional care often costs more in total than concierge does. It just doesn't show up on a monthly statement.
Tax considerations
Concierge membership fees may qualify as a deductible medical expense. If your total medical expenses exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income, the portion above that threshold is deductible. I can provide documentation for your accountant. HSA and FSA funds can sometimes be applied to the membership; check with your plan administrator.
More on the tax side: Is concierge medicine tax deductible?
What about insurance
You keep your insurance. It continues to cover everything that happens outside my office: labs, imaging, specialist visits, prescriptions, hospital stays, surgery. The membership covers access to me.
A useful way to think about the split: insurance covers what happens to you medically. The membership covers who takes care of you and how.
Is it worth it
For patients with complex health needs, demanding schedules, aging parents, a pattern of expensive ER visits, or simply a desire for medicine to work differently, the math usually works. For healthy people with simple needs, a direct primary care practice or a traditional plan may be a better use of the money.
If you want to talk through whether the specifics of my practice make sense for your situation, reach out. I'll answer questions directly and give you an honest read on whether I think concierge is right for you.
