Cassidy Introduces Direct Primary Care Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Bill Cassidy, M.D., released the following statement regarding the introduction of H.R. 3315, the Direct M.D. Care Act of 2011.

"When it comes to finding solutions to the many and varied problems within our health care system, we need new ideas.  To truly fix health care we need real health care reform, and not just health insurance reform.  We need a system that leads to greater access for patients and lower costs.  The Direct Medicare and Dual eligible Care Act or Direct M.D. Care Act accomplishes this.

"The Direct M.D. Care Act would create a demonstration program at CMS in which Medicare would pay a doctor for primary care services and preventive medicine with a flat monthly fee of less than $100 per month for Medicare and $125 for Medicare beneficiaries and dual eligibles.  A physician would be responsible for managing and preventing chronic conditions and all other primary care services.  In the private sector, this model is called Direct Primary Care (DPC)."