MAY 6, 2016 –
Patients using a concierge medicine practice expect to pay cash at the time of service, but few medical laboratories are equipped to collect from patients at time of service
One big challenge for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups is how to adapt to the changing role of the consumer in healthcare. It a major goal of healthcare policymakers to have patients pay more out of pocket for clinical care so as to motivate them to select hospitals, physicians, and clinical labs based on a combination of cost and quality.
One sector of healthcare that is benefiting from this consumer-first dynamic is concierge medicine. Statistics show that recent increases in the number of people seeking concierge medicine is changing the way many individuals utilize the healthcare system in the United States.
Cash for Services in Advance: A Problem and Opportunity for Clinical Labs
Concierge medicine—also referred to as boutique or retainer medicine—is an arrangement between physicians and patients where the patient pays a flat membership fee for basic medical services, such as annual physicals, preventive care, basic health screenings, and routine visits for minor issues. In this model, patients usually have to pay cash for provider services in advance.
Membership fees for access to concierge physicians typically cost between $130 and $150 per month. This is typically a supplement to traditional health insurance. Menu-style pricing structures for additional services and tests, like clinical laboratory tests and X-rays, also are paid by the patient up-front. This represents both a problem and an opportunity for medical laboratories. It is a problem because most labs are not set up to collect cash from the patient at time of service. It is an opportunity because these patients expect to pay at time of service and thus the lab not only gets paid up front, but it saves the administrative costs of not having to submit claims to a health insurer.
