Industry’s Annual Conference
October 15-17, 2026 | Atlanta, GA USA
Concierge Medicine Today, the industry’s trade publication | BUSINESS SECTION | © 2007-2026 All rights reserved.
Build your practice
Develop your strategy and grow your concierge medicine practice.
marketing and growth
Word of mouth matters—but it’s no longer the whole strategy. Sustainable growth in concierge medicine requires intentional marketing and a patient experience designed to stand apart. CMT has devoted three books to helping practitioners build practices that grow with clarity and purpose.
operations & compliance
A curated overview of legal op/eds, wisdom and real-world considerations every concierge medicine clinician should understand. Disclaimer: Personal opinions. Not medical, legal, or financial advice. Please do your own due diligence.
annual conference
Learn with the people shaping the industry. Get out of the echo chamber and into the room. Our annual conference brings real practitioners, real experts, and real conversations together—no hype, just clarity.
Weekly podcast
Short, weekly conversations with big picture perspective. Each episode addresses today’s healthcare challenges with fresh insights from our industry’s brightest leaders.
Stop Guessing. Start Growing.
Because hoping patients “just show up” isn’t a strategy— Growth in concierge medicine doesn’t happen by accident, It happens through clarity, consistency, and the right patient experience.
Sure, If You Build It… They Might Come. If You Shape It, They Stay. Growing a concierge medicine practice requires more than hope and word of mouth—it requires clarity, intention, and a repeatable approach that works in the real world. This three-book Marketing Series from Concierge Medicine Today was created to help practitioners think differently about growth, patient experience, and long-term sustainability. Together, these books offer practical guidance on authentic marketing, designing a concierge-level patient experience, and building a culture where referrals happen naturally. It’s a thoughtful path forward for practices ready to grow with confidence, not guesswork.
EXCERPTS from
MARKETING YOUR BRAND OF MEMBERSHIP MEDICINE
Take a Supporting Role:
Inside the Theater of Your Practice
For years, Concierge Medicine Today has watched a clear pattern emerge: patients aren’t choosing concierge and membership-based models because of cost — they’re choosing them because of trust and convenience. In our long-running survey, 82% of patients said these two factors mattered far more than price. That gap between what patients value and what critics assume says a lot about the modern healthcare disconnect.
Another striking reminder: when CMT asked patients how much they’d care if their traditional practice closed tomorrow, 77% said they wouldn’t miss it at all. That’s not about medical skill — that’s about feeling unseen, unheard, and unknown. Patients aren’t asking for perfection; they’re asking for presence. They’re looking for a doctor and a team who see them as people, not problems in the workflow.
Every patient who walks into your practice has already overcome a string of obstacles just to sit in front of you — traffic, parking, schedules, stress, kids, work, life. Meanwhile, most medical offices are running the daily “function-first” playbook. Staff focus on tasks, not scenes. Patients, however, experience their visit as a story — a sequence of small moments that either build trust or chip away at it.
That’s why the best practices in concierge and membership-driven models flip the script: the patient becomes the hero, and every clinician and staff member plays the supporting role. When you shift from “How do we get through the day?” to “How do we remove friction for this patient, right now?” you create memorable moments that people talk about long after they leave. In that instant, you become their ally — not another obstacle.
Because here’s the truth: hospitality in healthcare is a process, but the patient should never feel processed. Your practice is a stage, your team is the cast, and the story your patients tell afterward becomes your brand. Every scene is an opportunity to surprise and delight, to lower a barrier, or to offer a moment of calm. And in a world where most patients aren’t expecting that at all, your willingness to take a supporting role may be the most remarkable thing about your practice.
Unnecessary Brand Confusion:
Why Healthcare Trips Over Its Own Words
There’s a well-known leadership truth: “If there’s confusion in the marketplace, there’s confusion in the office space.”Healthcare is no exception. In fact, we might be the worst offenders. Like politicians, we have a longstanding habit of making things complicated — sometimes for good reasons, sometimes because of “that one patient, that one time.” And now, after decades of growth, the membership-medicine space has a new challenge: terminology tension. The industry has matured faster than its vocabulary, and the result is a growing gap between what insiders mean and what patients actually understand.
This isn’t a new problem — it’s classic “insideritis.” We start talking to ourselves, not the people we serve. Leadership voices like Carey Nieuwhof have warned about this for years: insiders know the language, but newcomers are lost. You see it everywhere in healthcare. Patients don’t know our acronyms. They don’t speak our shorthand. They don’t live in our world. And when the language becomes murky, trust becomes harder to build. Even simple words like “bespoke”or “concierge” have shifted in meaning over the years, gaining glossy marketing spins that make them sound like luxury products rather than care models focused on access, time, and relationship.
The confusion only deepens when similar-looking terms collide. “Virtual primary care” gets mistaken for direct primary care. VPC becomes D2C telehealth in a single article. Meanwhile, “evidence-based medicine” sounds brand-new to some people — when it’s been around since the early 1990s and rooted in solid, thoughtful clinical decision-making. And in the subscription/digital health boom, even models with good intentions have added more labels, more buzzwords, and more noise to an already noisy marketplace.
Here’s the irony: while healthcare wrestles with vocabulary, patients are busy choosing clarity over complexity. Cash-pay, retail, and membership-based practices continue to grow because they make the experience simpler, more predictable, and more personal. As Medical Economics noted, predictable monthly costs remove barriers. As Kyna Fong argues, process-heavy systems actually take away the tools physicians need — causing frustration on both sides. The membership-based world hasn’t just changed healthcare delivery; it has rebuilt the patient-provider relationship by reducing friction and restoring dignity.
So if all of this language has your head spinning, you’re not alone. The subscription-based movement in healthcare has gone through several generations — from early cash-pay models in the 1900s, to bespoke concierge care in the 1990s, to today’s contemporary membership-driven Personal Care Models. Each wave built on the one before it, each adding new ideas and (unfortunately) new terminology. But here’s the good news: beneath all the jargon lives a simple truth — patients want clarity, belonging, trust, and care that feels human. And when you strip away the labels, that’s exactly what these models are trying to offer.
Disclaimer: Personal opinion. Not medical, legal, or financial advice. Please do your own due diligence.
Cash Healthcare: How Does It Really Work??? Industry Legal Expert 🎙️ Weighs In!
Today our guest is an attorney and an old friend! You probably know him, Jim Eischen, Esq. He’s a talented musician, a motorcycle rider … and more importantly FOR Doctors today, Jim’s an expert in cash healthcare and compliance.
Legal Considerations 🎙️ Concierge Medicine is Creating a Splash from the Windy City 💨 to the Sunshine ☀️😎 State: But Remember, It’s Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution!
Jonna D. Eimer is a health law and corporate attorney and shareholder at Roetzel & Andress in Chicago, Illinois. She represents numerous concierge medicine practices and has extensive experience with other innovative practice models. She also advises her clients – including physicians and physician groups, dentists, behavioral health clinicians, and other health care providers – in forming new practices, selling established practices, and negotiating employment and shareholder agreements, as well as guiding them with respect to regulatory matters.
Why Are There So Many Concierge Medicine Practice Transactions?
Most physician owners of concierge medicine practices do not have experience going through a practice sale or major partnership transaction — here are some helpful and practical recommendations to consider.
FOURTH OIG ALERT: RPM and CASH HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA — 2025-2026 IMPACT ON MEDICAL OFFICES
Jim Eischen, Esq. is recognized nationally for compliance experience regarding complex corporate business planning and transactions. As a speaker at conferences throughout the US, he addresses data privacy, regulatory business planning problem-solving, and start-up innovation monetization.
more LEGAL & compliance EXPERTS’ COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTFUL OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
FOR consideration
Commentary Credits and Disclaimers
(Alphabetical; Please See Below; Disclaimers, These are not endorsements, nor legal advice. The content is for general information aimed at a healthcare audience and is not an endorsement of any mentioned entities. This site and the opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of Concierge Medicine Today (CMT). Please do your due diligence before acting on what you learn, read of find on this web site. This content may contain errors and CMT does not offer medical, financial, or legal advice. CMT is not liable for inaccuracies and users should consult trusted advisors before acting on the information. Users assume all risks and should conduct their own research. By using CMT's platforms, users agree to the Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
Jonna D. Eimer at Roetzel & Andress in Chicago, Illinois.
Jonna D. Eimer is a health law and corporate attorney and shareholder at Roetzel & Andress in Chicago, Illinois. She represents numerous concierge medicine practices and has extensive experience with other innovative practice models. She also advises her clients – including physicians and physician groups, dentists, behavioral health clinicians, and other health care providers – in forming new practices, selling established practices, and negotiating employment and shareholder agreements, as well as guiding them with respect to regulatory matters. In addition, she counsels clients in forming management services organizations (MSOs) and navigating these sales to private equity. Learn More, visit: https://www.ralaw.com/people/jonna-eimer
About Eischen Law Offices
James Eischen, Esq (Jim Eischen) is a licensed California attorney with over 32 years of experience handling complex corporate, business planning, health care and real estate matters. We at Eischen Law Office know that finding the right attorney to represent you is a choice not to be taken lightly. That’s why we offer free consultations to walk you through your needs, the scope of your goals, and your budget. Learn More, visit https://www.eischenlawoffice.com/
Michele P. Madisone has significant experience in managing legal issues arising in hospitals, physician offices or integrated health systems, including employment, investigations, risk management assessment and corporation management. She provides legal education for health systems’ medical staff, management teams and employees and often facilitates and manages implementation of compliance plans for HIPAA privacy and security regulations. In addition, Michele drafts and completes Certificate of Need applications and facilitates regulatory compliance, and provides oversight and guidance regarding medical staff governance and credentialing issues.
WAXMAN LETTER (circa 2002)
Attached is the March 2002 letter from Congressman Waxman we discussed earlier regarding the Tommy Thompson letter search. Thompson’s reply on behalf of HHS should have followed in March or April 2002. Reading the full exchange, the takeaway is clear: in 2002, HHS essentially signaled that the typical concierge practice model was Medicare compliant.
Source/Credit:
Concierge Medicine Today, LLC. Documents provided from public record via the Tommy G. Thompson Collection, Marquette University Archives. Includes Congressman Waxman’s March 2002 letter and Secretary Tommy G. Thompson’s official response (file noted as “Last Revision”).
Cost Sharing/Expenses
“Another issue confronting concierge practices is cost sharing and how to divide expenses in this type of practice models. Practices must decide if they are allocating costs based on each physician’s patient panel size or based on their respective ownership percentages of the practice. Once you allow for different panel sizes, these differences can become quite problematic, and physicians can end up disagreeing on the fair allocation of these costs. Confronting these differences early in the formation of the practice and providing for them in the practice’s operating documents can help avoid difficult and costly conflicts later for the partners.” (Eimer; 2025)
Medicare/Medicaid/HMO COMPLIANCE
“Collaborate with a knowledgeable attorney, consultant, or individual(s) to structure your cash practice to follow three (3) federal statutes and decades of Medicare/OIG guidance (essentially, using what looks like the executive health model but with different branding and added/variable features). This approach ensures Medicare/Medicaid/HMO compliance, allows for healthcare insurance plan integration (if desired, and not necessary), and ensures patient fees are “qualified medical expenses” eligible for HSA/FSA/HRA/MSA funding (in other words, allows for employer and pre-tax funding) with no changes in existing laws—it works right now.” (Eischen; 2025)
Coverage and Licensing Concerns
“Because of the unique access provided to concierge patients, some practices have added special coverage when these patients are out of state or on vacation. In light of their patients who winter in warmer climates, like Florida, California and Arizona, some practices have partnered with other concierge practices in these states to offer services to their “snowbird” patients. Health systems are taking advantage of these practice models also. For instance, Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine opened a concierge medicine office in Naples, Florida, and Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic also has opened concierge medicine practices in multiple Florida locations. Doctors, however, need to be aware that they need to be licensed in the state where the patient resides. Due to these licensing considerations, some concierge physicians are also obtaining licenses in other states to cover patients that often spend their winters in these warmer states.” (Eimer; 2025)
BE UNIQUE, AVOID INDUSTRY JARGON
“Steer clear of marketing and branding, that, while quite prevalent in the marketplace, is frustrating your patient fees achieving qualified medical expense status. For example, you may dearly love the DPC or concierge [as terms or] brands, but, the IRS is convinced that neither brand’s patient fees are qualified medical expenses. Why debate the IRS? Neither brand is likely to fully explain YOUR medical or healthcare philosophy, and neither brand assists with qualified medical expense status so both brands frustrate HSA/FSA/HRA/MSA funding absent changes in tax laws and IRS regulations.” (Eischen; 2025)
Transitions, Terminations and Retirement
“The concierge model generally relies on increased access and time for patients because physicians have typically accepted fewer patients. Because of this, it can be very difficult to figure out the fairest way to negotiate a partner’s exit and how these patients and fees paid would transfer in the event of such departure. Does the partner get paid only in a buy-out of the whole practice or will the practice buy-out the individual partner upon his or her termination? Would this be handled differently in the case of a retirement? Would the practice consider a buy-out only if another physician can be substituted and take over the patient panel? How then is the new provider paid if fees have already been collected for a given year? It is possible the patients reject the substitute physician regardless of the departing physician’s recommendation.” (Eimer; 2025)
“Oftentimes, the agreements governing the practice’s operations include long notice provisions prior to any termination or retirement because it is not easy to substitute another concierge doctor if one leaves. Also, the patients have paid for the personal relationship and membership with their own doctor, so they do not always feel that this relationship transfers to another doctor. Another thing to consider is if a doctor terminates or unexpectedly dies or becomes disabled and a new doctor cannot cover their patients, what happens to patient fees that have already been collected? The practice needs to consider whether these fees are returned to patients and then whether a new membership agreement is entered into with the new physician. All these considerations need to be addressed in the initial stages of the company’s operations.” (Eimer; 2025)
DON’T ALWAYS FOLLOW THE CROWD
“If your attorney or consultant tells you to opt out of Medicare to do cash healthcare — you are not working with the right expert. Opting out creates different but real compliance risk that the person you are working with does not understand.”(Eischen; 2025)
Don’t replicate, innovate.
“Avoid formulas, brands, and models that work against you implementing your unique vision of healthcare. Don’t replicate, innovate. And, do so using the referenced structuring that for decades has achieved Medicare compliance and tax-advantaged funding options. Call the practice whatever you want, incorporate whatever healthcare services you wish into your subscription, and don’t be constrained by the ill-informed guidance in this marketplace that is not using existing laws/guidance to maximize your practice’s potential.” (Eischen; 2025)
“Because each concierge practice has unique patient fee agreements to consider, there is not a “one size fits all” approach to advising these practices. Concierge practices should not overlook the unique legal and practice issues facing them, from patient fee issues to physician departures. These models have a variety of legal challenges that should be addressed at the early stages of the practice, so they do not lead to partner and patient discord later on.” (Eimer; 2025)
Don’t let Guilt Drive Your Strategy, You’re Worth More Than You Think You Are.
“Instead of allowing a combination of guilt and lack of accurate pricing market data to cause you to under-price and devalue your brand, consider instead pricing your practice at true market value but using ad hoc scholarships/discounts and employer funding to improve equitable access to cash healthcare.” (Eischen; 2025)
Regulatory Considerations
“Concierge practices typically charge a fee for membership in their practice, which generally allows patients increased access to the physicians and their services. If the practice is accepting Medicare and/or commercial insurance, the fee cannot be charged for any service already covered by Medicare or insurance. Additionally, if the practice accepts commercial insurance, the fee must be scrutinized to be sure it is allowed under any agreement with a commercial payor of the practice. Some payor agreements may specifically prohibit any patient fee for membership in a practice. Some practices have reached out to their commercial payors directly when converting to a concierge practice and have had these commercial payors review and approve their patient agreements and membership fees.” (Eimer; 2025)
When you have a heart for your community, you don’t have to compete on price.
“Consider your practice pricing as establishing your perceived brand value in the marketplace. You need not track the national franchise-style concierge enterprise pricing or DPC pricing: both are frequently published, but, most cash practices do not market their prices—so the actual market is much higher than your online search reveals. So the easiest prices to find are not necessarily reflective of the actual market, and imitating them will devalue your perceived brand. Instead, work with an experienced attorney or consultant who actually knows the unpublished typical prices for cash practice models. And remember, most if not all of those published price versions of cash healthcare are not structuring their fees/services to allow for employer/tax-advantaged funding, and perhaps their lower prices are unintentionally reflecting that. Pre-tax and employer funding options allow for higher prices points, and can be used to provide versions of this care with 100% employer funding—that can enable more folks to benefit from this care model.” (Eischen; 2025)
Sales to Third Parties
“Physician owners in a concierge practice also need to consider at the formation of a practice how the profits of the practice will be divided in the case of a sale to a third party. Will profits be divided based on a physician’s ownership in the practice or based on an individual physician’s production and fee generation? If a practice has providers with vastly different production and patient panel sizes, then this is important to consider because the higher producing partner may want a sale to a third party to take into account these differences. Another partner may feel strongly that profits should be divided based on ownership percentages in the practice entity, which may be equal even if the providers have different numbers of patients. Frequently, the potential buyer has their own considerations for valuing the practices and may ascribe different values to each physician’s practice. The buyer may base its valuation of the practice on patient panel size and fees generated by each individual physician.” (Eimer; 2025)
you have options without creating compliance risks.
“If your attorney or consultant tells you that you cannot bill insurance or stay in network while doing cash heallthcare— you are not working with the right expert. There is a wide range of preference with plan billing in cash healthcare. The right expert can explain to you that you can elect to bill plans a little, a lot, or not at all, and why you have those options without creating compliance risks. You can do zero plan billing, or some, but you should know why you have those options, and why there is no need to opt out of Medicare.” (Eischen; 2025)