A Seattle, Washington based health care startup has received funding from Michael Dell and Jeff Bezos, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Their business model is unique and could radically change health care in this country. More from the WSJ:
Qliance operates three clinics in the Seattle area that offer primary care treatment to patients who pay a monthly membership fee ranging between $44 and $84, depending on their age. The company accepts no form of health insurance for its services. Qliance intends to use its financing to expand in Washington State, with plans to open clinics beyond the state as early as next year.
The company argues that its care covers roughly 90% of the medical issues that people see doctors for, from checkups to minor fractures to vaccinations, as well as ongoing care for chronic illnesses like hypertension. Qliance members typically pay other companies for insurance to cover emergency procedures and serious illnesses, such as cancer.
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Qliance is betting it can profit by wringing many of the administrative costs out of health, especially the overhead that comes with haggling with insurance companies and billing patients.
The company’s clinics are open seven days a week and says its doctors are able to spend more time with patients — at least a half-hour for routine appointments and an hour for physicals — than most physicians who take insurance do. Qliance says its clinics are more affordable than that from “concierge care” physicians, who often charge more than $100 a month for speedy appointments and other perks but still require insurance.