A sign of things to come?

We have concierge practices, now people can pay extra for “priority access” at emergency rooms:

The 95-year-old financially ailing Southampton Hospital – the only serious medical emergency center on the South Fork – is offering a plan aimed at wealthy summer visitors whose primary doctors are back in Manhattan and out of reach, presumably along with the hospital’s sense of propriety. For $6,000 per family, or $3,800 for individuals, not including doctors’ fees, cardholders in the Southampton PLUS plan are entitled to “priority access” to medical care at the hospital from May 28 to Sept. 26.

Similar Posts:

• ER visits and health care costs rise in Massachusetts due to lack of primary care access
• Do we really need fancier, more expensive hospital gowns?
• The Mayo Clinic opposes a public plan, and the dissonance facing progressive health reformers

Tagged as: emergency, hospital, primary care