Thu. Apr 18th, 2024

On July 1, a new South Dakota state law took effect that allows the parties most intimately involved in the health care equation to strike up “medical retainer agreements.” We mentioned them in February. Well, they pulled it off.

Some more from the article:

According to a 2015 article by the conservative website Michigan Capitol Confidential, under these agreements “patients make monthly payments to a physician who in return agrees to provide a menu of routine services at no extra charge.”

“Because no insurance company stands between patient and doctor,” the report continued, “the hassles and expense of bureaucratic red tape are eliminated, which have resulted in dramatic cost reductions.”

“The law stipulates that ‘a primary care provider or agent of a health care provider is not required to obtain a certificate of authority or license under this act to market, sell, or offer to sell a direct primary care agreement.’”

Nice job, South Dakota.

19500cookie-checkSouth Dakota Loves DPC
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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