Rhode Island-based Doctor’s Choice, dedicated to educating consumers about Medicare, has named Leah Luo chief operating officer, combining her unique background in nursing and law in directing the company’s strategic plan. Providence Business News spoke to Luo about the company’s approach to medicine.
PBN: What’s the No. 1 thing people need to know about Medicare? Why?
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LUO: Medicare isn’t free! People need to know that they still need to save up for medical costs in retirement. Most people think that Medicare is already paid by taxes when they were working. In reality, there are still premiums, copays and coinsurance just like someone would have in an employer’s plan.
PBN: What’s the No. 1 misconception people have about Medicare?
LUO: Most people are surprised that Medicare isn’t exclusively from the federal government. Almost all individuals must complete coverage with a private insurance company. There are so many different options, including supplemental, advantage and Part D plans, all of which are administered by private insurance companies.
PBN: Assuming conservatives manage to decrease Medicare funding, Is RI positioned to withstand drastic cuts?
LUO: The threat of a decrease in Medicare funding is very real given the latest budget. With our data showing the average Rhode Islander spending over $300 a month in premiums with a supplemental and drug plan (before drug copays), we’re already at a tipping point where even Medicare is becoming unaffordable.
For individuals on less-expensive Medicare Advantage plans with copays, we’re seeing an increase in out-of-pocket expenses and network restrictions. Any further cuts to Medicare will force insurers and providers to look at different payment mechanisms to either provide the same services for less or reduce services altogether through more gatekeeper controls.
PBN: What’s your vision for Doctor’s Choice in the immediate and long-term future?
LUO: Doctor’s Choice is on track to meet its goal of educating 1 million retirees by the year 2020. We are leveraging technology to distribute our education and we hope to grow a national company in Rhode Island. We have already expanded to servicing clients in 20 states and our online course can be accessed at www.doctorshoiceusa.com.
PBN: Please give an example of how Doctor’s Choice can help control health care costs.
LUO: At Doctor’s Choice, we’ve already helped save hundreds of thousands of dollars in anticipated costs through our clinical approach of looking at health insurance.
Our clients often rely on us as a trusted source of information to navigate the health care system. Just recently, we had a client who just lost his wife for whom he was the primary caretaker for five years. When we reached out to check in on him, we realized he was not taking his COPD medications due to cost. We called his primary care physician to coordinate a pharmaceutical assistance program so he could get help with his prescriptions since traditional coupon programs do not work with Medicare.
We’re hopeful this intervention significantly improved his quality of life and prevented unnecessary hospital admissions given his diagnoses. This is just a snippet of what we do at Doctor’s Choice. I think when the founder of the company is a doctor, his passion for helping people is tangible to all our employees.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN contributing writer.
