Direct Primary Care

Our health care system is a disaster. There are layers of government bureaucracy and private corporations taking a cut every time someone visits a doctor, hospital or pharmacy. Costs are now at absurd levels.

Regulations severely inhibit physicians. Patients are treated like parts moving through an assembly line. Stressed out doctors scramble to do 20 minutes of typing in the 15 minutes allotted to see a patient. Hospitals charge thousands of dollars just to sleep in a bed. Truly, what a mess.

One solution is called Direct Primary Care. This model bypasses the insurance companies and government. The patient simply pays a low monthly fee directly to the physician. For this they receive unlimited primary care and access to rock bottom prices for basic tests and generic drugs.

For our family this has been a godsend. We've saved money due to the lowered cost of medications and tests -- more than enough to cover the fees. We now have an experienced, competent and highly accessible doctor. Without the regulations he is able to give our family lots of time and caring attention. To tell the truth, I had completely forgotten what it's like to have a real doctor. Also, we can still use the hospitals and specialists under Medicare and private insurance when needed.

I can't say enough good about this kind of practice. Surely it's part of the answer to our broken health care system.

Robert Polack, Cape Girardeau