Residents in Sugar Land and Missouri City are seeking alternative health care options, including membership-based care and mobile clinics. Next Level Urgent Care, a membership-based care clinic, offers treatment for non-life threatening conditions in medical, mental and behavioral health for a flat monthly or annual cost.
Membership-Based Care
April Gillam, Next Level’s chief operating officer, said the membership’s affordability and flexibility, including the freedom to see a doctor as late as 9 p.m. and 24/7 telemedicine access, has been a huge draw. “Just like we all got used to Uber and DoorDash and Amazon, and we’ve gotten almost addicted to that easy button, people want their health care to be as easy as those radically delightful consumer experiences,” Gillam said.
Mobile Clinics
Another option for patients are mobile clinics, such as OnMed’s CareStation, which is a clinic in a box inside Fiesta Mart in Missouri City. CareStation clinicians appear human-sized on screen and can remotely take patient vitals, including weight, temperature, blood pressure and more.
Individuals can also visit community health centers such as AccessHealth, which has locations in Missouri City and Stafford. The center offers a variety of services including family medicine, women’s services, dental care and counseling with fees on a sliding scale based on a person’s income and the size of their household.
Looking Ahead
As the growing financial strain continues to impact patients, many physicians are taking on more responsibilities with their rising caseload. Ravi Aron, professor of health care strategy and technology at the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, said the supply of physicians and clinicians is not expanding to meet the demand for clinical services, with a report by the Texas Department of State Health Services showing the Texas physician shortage is projected to increase through 2032.
Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, an online data tool that monitors the performance of the U.S. health care system, reports health care spending will reach 19.7% of the country’s gross domestic product by 2032, which has health officials looking at other alternative insurance options. One example of that is a health cooperative, which aims to compete against private insurance by offering a member-owned cooperative that pays doctors and hospitals directly to keep costs down.
Original reporting: Community Impact — Sugar Land — read the source article.
