New York State's Attitude Re: Concierge Medicine

In April of 2004 the New York State Department of Health issued a letter condemning concierge medicine. The specific target of the letter was the practice of charging HMO enrollees a concierge fee for “additional” services. The Department found that some of the services apparently provided in exchange for extra fees were services already covered by the HMO-enrollee contract, such as a guarantee of 24-hour coverage, case management, and coordination of necessary referrals. If that were not enough, the Department found that two services offered were in effect discriminatory against HMO enrollees: expedited appointments and better waiting rooms. Moreover, the fact that many enrollees would have to change physicians if they could not afford the extra fee was discriminatory. Suffice it to say that the State of New York does not look kindly on concierge medicine. Concierge - conciergexx

For a copy of the letter go to www.wnj.com/marquis/NY_DeptofHealth.pdf