West Virginia Doctor Introduces Pre-Paid Primary Care Plan

West Virginia Doctor Introduces Pre-Paid Primary Care Plan in General Healthcare

Dr. Vic Wood is a primary care physician who operates a private walk-in clinic in Wheeling, West Virginia. His clinic is open 11 hours each day, six days a week. Every year, roughly 15,000 patients receive care in Dr. Wood’s clinic.

But the clinic is battling financial problems, reported the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Wood’s administrative costs are increasing, and many patients are unable to pay for their care. According to Dr. Wood, about one in five of his patients are uninsured, and many others have very high-deductible plans and have trouble paying for care out of pocket.

He’s figured out a way to keep his practice going through a pre-paid care plan. The plan provides unlimited primary and urgent care at a cost of $85 a month for individuals and $125 for families. Some services provided in the plan include lab work, X-rays, some generic prescription drugs, and office visits.

“I can’t see my practice surviving for the next 10 years without this model, ” said Dr. Wood.

The Journal also reported that hundreds of primary care physicians around the country have started similar pre-paid plans. But these pre-paid primary care plans don’t take the place of more comprehensive insurance coverage — they only offer an affordable way to get primary and urgent care.

“I’m going to take this as far as I can. Primary care is the one area of health care that every patient needs to participate in — and this is the way to do it,” said Dr. Wood.

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