After five years of dealing with hassles from health insurance companies, and having to hire people just to deal with the paperwork, he set himself free.
He no longer accepts medical insurance and instead, charges his patients a monthly membership fee, plus the price of office visits and tests.
Under this membership program, each patient has unlimited access to doctors and medical services, but have an incentive to use that access wisely as it incurs a fee.
For adults up to age 44, Nunamaker charges $50 a month, pediatric services are $10 a month, and for adults age 44 and older it costs $100 a month.
Although he calls the practice “cash-only,” Nunamaker also accepts credit and debit cards.
An MRI can cost $400, compared with the $2,000 or more billed by insurance companies; and a cholesterol test costs patients just $3, versus the $90 or more billed by insurance companies.
This affordable general health care approach does encourage families to also carry some kind of high-deductible health insurance plan in case of a serious illness that requires hospitalization.
But otherwise, general healthcare on a “pay as you go” basis is providing dramatic savings to patients and doctors.
Nunamaker’s annual salary is around $200,000, and he gets to spend more time with patients and more time with this family.
Most of Nunamaker’s clients are self-employed, small business owners, or small companies that found the monthly fee and the cost of the high-deductible plan was a cheaper option than regular health insurance.
No doubt it will also prove superior to government mandated insurance as well.
Related Story: Adventures in Healthcare
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