Direct Primary Care in St. Clair Shores

Last month, we were invited to a Health Care Forum in St. Clair Shores, Michigan with Senator Patrick Colbeck. We had a great meeting, with about 30 - 40 members of the community who are interested in the principles of free market healthcare that we discussed. 

Senator Colbeck has been making a tour across the State of Michigan, talking with folks in similar forum-type settings about health care and ways that we can reform our primary care system. The last Town Hall that I was able to attend was in Grosse Pointe. The aim is to deliver higher-quality care with better service and at a lower price. Senator Colbeck is a staunch supporter of Direct Primary Care services and he has proposed a Medicaid Pilot program at the State level for DPC services. 

Here's the portion of the talk that featured Plum Health DPC and the services that we provide:

Senator Colbeck spoke about the legislative efforts to advance Direct Primary Care at the State Level in his speaking slot, and to conclude the evening, we took time to answer questions from the audience about DPC, insurance, and other concerns:

Overall, it was a great event, with a great turnout and excellent audience participation and questions. I'm looking forward to the next one! Below are some still shots from the event.

- Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC

Medicaid Pilot Program in Michigan

Last week, we met up with Senator Patrick Colbeck in Lansing along with other legislators like State Representative Ned Canfield and other Direct Primary Care Doctors like Chad Savage of YourChoice Direct Care. 

Currently, the State of Michigan spends 1/4 of the State Budget on health care programs like Medicaid. What I'm advocating for is better primary care and preventive services that create value for people in our State, that decreases costs over the long term by providing better care on the front end. The British say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and by focusing more on primary care and prevention, I believe that we can take better care of our neighbors and save the State of Michigan money, money that can then be used to fix our infrastructure and spur economic growth and activity in our state. 

Pragmatically, it may start with a Medicaid pilot program. Instead of giving Medicaid money to insurance companies to manage patients, that money is given directly to primary care doctors on a monthly basis to care for a panel of medicaid patients. The onus is then on the primary care doctor to provide excellent health care services for their community members and create more value and better health outcomes at a lower cost. I believe that this type of arrangement will allow for more holistic care, better access for patients, better outcomes, and cost savings. 

I am excited about the prospect of this work and happy that we have some courageous leaders in this State who are willing to address these difficult problems head on. 

Thank you so much for reading,

- Dr. Paul with Plum Health DPC