In recent years, a small but growing number of medical practices embraced a buffet approach to primary care, offering patients unlimited services for a modest flat fee — say, $50 to $150 per month — instead of billing them a la carte for every office visit and test.
But a pioneer in the field — Seattle-based Qliance — shut its public clinics as of June 15, and some health care analysts are questioning whether the approach to medical care is valid and viable.
This style of medical practice is called "direct primary care," and many doctors and patients say they like the arrangement. Typically, these physicians don't accept insurance — which frees the doctors from having to get preapprovals from insurers on treatment and lets them skip the paperwork involved in insurance claims. Doctors say that allows them more time and energy for their patients.
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