Qliance Expands to Kent

In an Atlantic Magazine article--"How American Health Care Killed My Father"--making the rounds right now, a local health care provider gets a mention for its innovative business model and it isn't Group Health:

Qliance Medical Group, for instance, now operates clinics serving some 3,000 patients in the Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, areas, charging $49 to $79 a month for unlimited primary care, defined expansively.

Last Thursday, September 10, Qliance held its ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new clinic at Kent Station (in Kent, which, for the benefit of our Seattle readers, is here--even farther away than Renton). If nothing else--though there is plenty else--Qliance illustrates the immense costs that the for-profit health insurance model adds to health care. (Qliance's founder Dr. Garrison Bliss claims that about 40 cents of every health care dollar supports the insurance industry.)

For "direct primary care"--same day or next-day appointments for urgent care--clients pay a monthly fee of on average $50-$60 per month, depending on the level of service. That includes "30- to 60-minute office visits, 24-hour phone and email access to a physician," and X-rays and lab work. 

Qliance provides, in other words, your health tune-ups, oil changes, tire rotation, and brake replacement all for that regular monthly fee. If you get in an accident or drop a transmission, well, then it's off to the specialist. For that, Qliance recommends what's called wraparound insurance--the high-deductible plans that cover more occasional health concerns.

In less automotive terms, Qliance CEO Norm Wu likes to call it "Marcus Welby" care. Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke said it's "putting the patient first." However you slice it, the regular, predictable monthly payment for help staying healthy is popular; Kent may be the site of clinic number two, but venture-capital-backed Qliance wants to go regional soon.