Limits on patient eligibility are making it difficult for some primary care physicians to switch over from private insurance to direct primary care (DPC) practice models.
To help those physicians, Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., (R-LA) recently unveiled the Primary Care Enhancement Act of 2015, which would make it easier for patients to select DPC as an option for their medical care. The Primary Care Enhancement Act has the backing of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
"This legislation removes a legal barrier that prevents patients with HSAs from entering into DPC arrangements with family physicians and other primary care providers," a letter from the AAFP reads. "The bill also provides an avenue for patients who have HSAs, as well as patients enrolled in Medicare, to more easily avail themselves of services through the DPC model."
Under the legislation, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services demonstration project is set up for practices that wish to participate.
Physicians frustrated with insurers and patients who are seeking more time with a primary care physician are choosing the DPC model, under which participants normally pay a monthly fee that covers most, if not all, primary care services, including clinical, consultations and lab work.
Some large employers in the service sector, such as the hotel industry, have gone to DPCs as a way to provide health care for employees without having to pay large insurance premiums.
Some treatments are not covered by the monthly fees and physicians who switch to the DPC model urge their patients to purchase high-deductible policies to cover emergencies.
