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| Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times |
I have seen the trend in insureds going to a cash clinic in Los Angeles where they can see a physician or physician assistant or $50 for a routine matter because they do not want to pay a $20 copay on top of another $150 deductible.
Stores like Walmart, CVS and others were willing to open these clinics and know that they were going to make money on the ancillary services. With California's strict rules on the corporate practice of medicine, we have not seen many of these in store clinics. However, we see independent optometry practices at Target and Costco that comply with the prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine.
For those interested in the topic, the Los Angeles Times article "In Store Clinics Look To Be A Remedy For Healthcare Law Influx" explores how these in-store clinics are looking to the fact that more people will be insured in the future. The article gives an example of a mother who took her son to a CVS clinic for a physical for sports for $49 because her son's insurance would not cover it until August and it would cost $150 at his physician's office. Look at what the big players are doing in healthcare when thinking about your own approach to your practice.
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