What is Concierge Medicine?
Concierge Medicine is a model that brings back the practice of medicine to the physician and patient. The practice size is limited and gives patients an alternative to standard practices and more control in their healthcare process. In a membership model, patients have a choice between an annual or a monthly payment fee in exchange for a personalized approach to maintaining optimal health. Insurance will no longer be accepted under this model, allowing for the physician to focus more on the needs of each individual patient. This model will allow for increased physician access and a unique level of comprehensive and coordinated primary care.
What is the difference between joining a Concierge Medical Practice vs. Traditional Insurance based primary care services?
In a traditional primary care office, Physicians have between 2000 to over 3000 patients, which lead to long wait times to see the Doctor, crowded lobbies, appointments are focused on one or two issues at a time, and the average appointment time with the patient is around 8 minutes. In this type of practice, Physicians need to see 25-30 patients a day and the quality of care is reduced.
Do you accept private insurance or Medicare?
Our practice does not accept any type of health insurance. We accept an annual or a monthly payment directly from our patients.
Dr. Luciano’s only focus is on his patients and not the work required of him by the insurance companies. Because of this, the practice and Dr. Luciano is able to offer patients longer appointment times and easier access to their personal physician.
What is the size of the practice?
The practice is limited to only 500 patients.
A typical Family Medicine Physician has between 2000-3000 patients in his practice with an average visit time of 8 minutes per patient. Dr. Luciano is able to see each of his patients for longer and more thorough visits with average time being 45 minutes to over an hour. In Dr. Luciano's practice, you will never feel rushed and have plenty of time to ask all of your questions and review with him any and all of your concerns during acute visits and preventive health.
Do I still need to have health insurance?
Yes. The Concierge patient membership fee covers primary care services provided by Dr. Luciano. You will want to continue your insurance to cover hospital, specialist, laboratory, and pharmacy fees.
What if I have an HMO plan (Keystone Health Plan East or Aetna HMO) and need referrals?
Since Dr. Luciano is an out of network provider, it is difficult to coordinate care with this type of insurance as we won't be able to submit referrals for you to see your specialists and order certain studies that may require a referral.
If you choose to be a member of the practice, we suggest you select an insurance to one that doesn't require you to select a primary care physician and require referrals during your next enrollment period.
Will Medicare cover the annual fee or reimbursement for office visits?
No. Dr. Luciano has "opted-out" of Medicare which means that care is provided to patients under the terms of the Membership Agreement. Neither the doctor, nor the patient, may submit bills to Medicare for reimbursement.
Will private insurance cover my office visits with Dr. Luciano?
While we do not accept insurance, we will provide you with a coded receipt that you may submit to your insurance company for reimbursement for out of network benefits. We cannot guarantee reimbursement as all out of network benefits are different.
Will private insurance cover the annual fee?
Some health savings and high deductible plans may reimburse part or all the annual fee for primary care services. You should check with your insurance company or employer for details about your plan.
What happens if Dr. Luciano is out of town and I get sick?
In the event that Dr. Luciano is unavailable, a carefully selected Physician will be covering him. There is no additional charge for this.
