Healthcare vs. Wealthcare: Uncovering UCLA’s VIP Medical Program

By Rex Weiner

Part One of a Two-Part Series About UCLA’s Concierge Medicine Program

How do you get the best quality health care in the University of California’s renowned public medical system? Approaches vary, according to the campus, but at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center it’s a gold-colored wallet card with a personalized number to call. When flashed from a gurney in the ER (or at a club to impress friends), the card means one thing: The patient in question is a VIP.

Welcome to the world of concierge medicine, UCLA-style. At a time when millions of uninsured Californians can’t afford Affordable Care Act coverage, even with subsidies, and the ACA’s added enrollments compound the pressures on our patchwork health-care system, California’s academic health centers are devoting a portion of their resources to wealthy benefactors and anyone willing and able to pay a premium for medical services.

Perks go beyond hotel-type amenities to include special access to clinical care. “VIPs and major donors had preferred access to specialists with long waiting lists and to diagnostic procedures, such as MRIs,” says Dr. Robert Pedowitz, who served from 2009 to 2010 as chairman of the UCLA Department of Orthopedic Surgery. One of a number of doctors with experience in the UC medical system who were interviewed for this article, Pedowitz told Capital & Main he would often oblige special requests from the dean’s office on behalf of VIPs.

Bound by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy rules from disclosing patients’ identities, doctors and UC hospital workers say it’s understood that if you’re either a major donor or board member, sports or entertainment celebrity, political honcho, or someone who has simply shelled out big bucks for better service, you’ll be well-cared for.

For the full article, click on the link below.
[Source]: Capital & Main