Care on Call with Richmond Magazine

Dr. Olivia Mansilla (pictured at left), a practicing internist at WellcomeMD (Photo by Jay Paul)

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 14, 2024 BY KEVIN JOHNSON | Richmond Magazine

Concierge medicine, like most things in the health care marketplace, has many names. Perhaps a family member has recommended “boutique medicine” to you, or a patient in a waiting room brought up “direct primary care,” bragging that they have their doctor on speed dial.

However it’s been pitched, concierge care is largely the same: a model for patients, physicians, insurers and administrators looking to avoid common burdens in the health care industry — long waits, short visits and impersonal care.

“It allows for doctors and patients to interact in a way that many health care systems don’t and can’t,” says Linda Nash, founder and CEO of Richmond-based concierge venture WellcomeMD.

A concierge plan stands out because of its monthly or annual membership fee, on top of the cost of insurance or actual medical care; generally, they average between $2,000 to $4,000 a year. The fee grants patients access to nearly unlimited in-person visits with a primary doctor (as well as virtual visits) that are unconstrained by the high volume of patients that many doctors who are part of major practices see.

While there’s no industry-wide standard for how concierge practices interact with health insurance companies, many operate in-network for major providers and file claims and billing identically to how traditional health plans operate, although some employers will even cover the membership cost, Nash says.

Nash originally entered the industry in 2003 as co-founder of PartnerMD, which has since grown to include 33 physicians in seven offices across the mid-Atlantic, with three locations in Richmond. She left PartnerMD in 2015 and started WellcomeMD in 2017, and it now has offices in Richmond, Atlanta, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The above has been excerpted from the original Richmond Magazine article highlighting Concierge Care and founder and CEO Linda Nash. For the full article please click here.