New Yorkers May Soon Have to Pay $2K a Year to Keep Their Doctor

New Yorkers who want to keep seeing their doctor may need to shell out $2,000 a year in addition to paying for insurance.

Welcome to the future where everything is horrible. Thanks to corporation-friendly legislation and tax breaks for big business, the past few decades have ushered in a new era where companies get bigger and richer while consumers pay more and get less.

We've seen it happen over and over again in the Hudson Valley. Your local lawn care service, plumber, trash service, oil company or exterminator is gobbled up by some big national conglomerate. While the company may have the same name and even the same smiling former owner's face on the side of the truck, customers suddenly can't get anyone on the phone to answer questions, their billing is a complete mess and prices have suddenly skyrocketed.

Your Doctor May Soon Charge You a Yearly Fee or Kick You Out

One of the worst things big corporations have done is take over most of our local doctors' offices. Our son's pediatrician used to be incredible, but now the practice appears to be run by a national company which makes it impossible to get anyone on the phone.

During a recent appointment of my own, my doctor was openly complaining to me about how terrible the company he now works for is and how they've driven away all of his best nurses and staff members.

Now, more and more doctors in the Hudson Valley are turning to Concierge Medicine in an effort to reclaim their independence and offer patients a quality of service they're no longer receiving. The controversial business practice promises to offer VIP access to your doctor, but it comes at a steep price.

What is Concierge Medicine?

The best way to describe Concierge Medicine is by comparing it to a Fast Pass at your favorite theme park. Even though it already costs an arm and a leg for a ticket, if you don't want to wait in line for an hour at each ride you're forced to pay even more for a Fast Pass. The added expense gets you special perks including the ability to cut the line ahead of those who can't afford to shell out more.

In many ways, Concierge Medicine is the same. Doctors who find themselves with too many patients and too little time are now charging around $2,000 a year above and beyond insurance and copays. The annual fee is supposed to weed out many of the patients who can't afford it and free up the doctor's schedule to offer perks like same-day appointments, the doctor's 24-hour cellphone and other perks that used to be standard but are now marketed as VIP access.

Several Hudson Valley doctors have already taken this route, claiming it's given their patients better care. Others argue that Concierge Medicine is creating a two-tiered system of haves and have-nots.

It's one thing to see people cutting in front of you on a rollercoaster, it's another to have to leave the doctor you're seeing and be forced to wait over a year to schedule a routine physical because you can't afford the VIP service.

So, don't be surprised if you get a notice from your doctor about Concierge Medicine, and be prepared to decide if it's worth the cost to remain as their patient.