More Arizonans Can Now Access Cheaper Healthcare

Streaming is undoubtedly the king of American entertainment—with cable and satellite going the way of the home telephone. It’s no surprise why. Companies like Netflix offer customers a wide variety of content that can be watched anywhere at any time. Compare that freedom to old school options that typically required some level of expensive, at-home infrastructure.

The evolution from cable to streaming is comparable to trends unfolding in other sectors of the U.S. economy—and healthcare is no exception. Under a growingly popular arrangement called direct primary care, patients pay a modest monthly fee to access routine medical services without the baggage of traditional insurance-funded, hospital-based care.

I’ve witnessed first hand how the Netflix-like subscription model can be a big upgrade from the cumbersome medical status quo. Given Americans say healthcare affordability is a top concern right now, a big selling point of direct primary care is the price tag.

The current state of the U.S. healthcare system is complicated and costly because special interests profit from the confusion. This medical industrial complex is made up of large hospital networks, quasi-government insurance companies, and murky middlemen that all take a cut of the action. The result is nearly zero transparency about the true cost of care, which—in turn—leads to hugely inflated prices.

Most readers, for example, would struggle to discern the real cost of undergoing an X-ray or blood test. Why? Because health insurance covers the procedure and leaves patients in the dark. Hospitals then have license to charge exorbitant amounts of money for the routine service and insurance companies are fine paying it because they can subsequently raise premiums that taxpayers ultimately subsidize.

This nightmarish cycle is largely why the U.S. spends more on healthcare per capita than any other country in the developed world.

Direct primary care offers patients a way to slice through this gordian knot of special interests. Members can purchase from an a la carte menu of essential health services at transparent prices while bypassing the headache, financial bloat, and delays associated with medical bureaucracy.

For example, medicines accessed through direct primary care are often dramatically cheaper because the model offers the product at near wholesale prices from manufacturers. No need for prescriptions to rack-up a huge price tag by winding through a maze of pharmacy benefit managers, insurance red tape, and big hospitals that all stake a claim to patient dollars.

Fortunately, some of Arizona’s elected leaders in Washington are making it easier for state residents to access this path to affordable healthcare. Last summer, the state’s Republican delegation supported federal legislation that permits direct primary care plans to be purchased through Health Savings Accounts (HSA). Individuals can now spend up to $150 a month from these tax-advantaged funds on a subscription while couples can commit $300.

The seemingly minor change to the federal codebook is a big win for health freedom and patient choice.

Going forward, Arizona lawmakers should be vigilant about backdoor proposals that would undermine direct primary care. That notably includes burdensome government red tape that too often sneaks into Washington policymaking. Allowing direct primary care to be micromanaged by Uncle Sam—as Obamacare has done with traditional health insurance—would be a huge blow to the affordability agenda.

As the free market alternative gains traction in Arizona and across the U.S., it will inevitably attract the attention of more policymakers eager to over-regulate it. For families struggling to afford medical services, direct primary care is a lifeline that the government should be careful not to sever.

Dr. Kristen Bishop is the owner and founder of Keystone Natural Family Medicine in Mesa, Arizona. She is also a partner of the Job Creators Network Foundation.