What is concierge care?
Concierge care is a membership model for primary care. You pay a flat monthly fee. In return, you get a real relationship with a provider who has time for you, and direct access when something comes up.
Primary care built around access, not volume
In the traditional model, your provider is paid per visit — by your insurance company. That creates pressure to see as many patients as possible. The result: shorter appointments, longer wait times, and a provider who barely knows your name.
Concierge care flips the incentive. Your provider charges a flat membership fee on top of billing insurance, and deliberately keeps the patient panel small. That extra time translates into longer appointments, same-day access, and a real relationship built over years.
Your insurance still covers the cost of visits. Membership is what gets you the access: reaching your provider directly by text or phone between appointments, without going through a call center.
1
Pay a flat monthly fee
For direct access to your provider. Insurance covers the cost of visits, labs, and referrals like it normally would.
2
Get a provider who knows you
Longer appointments, fewer patients per panel, and the same face every time — not whoever happened to be available.
3
Reach them when you need it
Direct line to your provider by text or phone. No portal, no phone tree, no waiting three days for a callback.
What changes when you leave the traditional model
Traditional care
- 8–12 minute appointments
- Weeks to get in for a routine visit
- Provider changes year to year
- Call a phone tree when something comes up
- Rushed, because the next patient is already waiting
Concierge care
- 30–60 minute appointments
- Same- or next-day when you need it
- Same provider, year after year
- Text or call your provider directly
- Unhurried, because the time is yours
Things people get wrong about concierge care
Concierge care replaces health insurance.
Membership works alongside your insurance, not instead of it. Insurance covers the cost of visits, labs, and referrals; membership is what gets you direct access to your provider.
Concierge care is only for wealthy people.
At $100/month, it costs less than most gym memberships, on top of the insurance you likely already have.
It's just glorified telehealth.
Telehealth is one piece of it. Concierge care means an ongoing relationship with one provider, in-person visits when you need them, and direct access between appointments, not just a video call when something's wrong.
You still have to wait for appointments.
Concierge providers carry a fraction of the patient panel of a traditional practice. Same-day and next-day access is the norm, not the exception.
Concierge care is not a replacement for insurance.
Membership gets you direct access to your provider: phone, text, after-hours availability, and priority scheduling. Insurance is what covers the cost of your visits, labs, and referrals, in primary care and beyond. Most members keep the insurance plan they already have.
- Visits, labs, and referrals, billed through your insurance
- Specialist care, billed through your insurance as normal
- Emergency room and hospital stays
- Major surgeries and advanced imaging (we help coordinate)
- Direct access to your provider, any time
- After-hours availability and priority scheduling
- A small patient panel and real appointment time
Concierge care works best when primary care matters to you.
People tired of being rushed
If you have ever left an appointment with half your questions unanswered, concierge care is built for you.
Those managing chronic conditions
Diabetes, hypertension, thyroid, cholesterol — ongoing management works better with a provider who knows your full picture.
Families who want continuity
The same provider over years. Someone who knows your history, your kids, and what matters to your household.
Self-employed professionals
Membership keeps you connected to one provider for continuity, with direct access whenever something comes up.
Health-conscious adults
If you think about prevention, lifestyle, and natural options, concierge care gives you a provider who thinks the same way.
Anyone who has given up on primary care
If you avoid the doctor because the experience is never worth it, this is the practice that changes that.
This is the model we practice.
Blooming Health is a concierge care practice in Baltimore. Avi Blumenthal, NP sees a small panel of patients, spends real time with each one, and is reachable directly when something comes up.