Testimony before the Montana Senate Committee on Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs

• Darcy N. Bryan, MD
  Senior Affiliated Scholar

Chair Fitzpatrick, Vice Chairs Boland and Vance, and members of the committee:

My name is Darcy Bryan, and I am a senior affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a practicing obstetrician gynecologist surgeon. My research encompasses the positive impact that innovative healthcare models and technology can have on healthcare access, quality, and affordability. Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding SB 101 and its support of the opportunities for healthcare delivery through direct primary care (DPC). Today, I offer three takeaways:

1. The fee-for-service model makes it difficult for both patients and physicians to understand the costs of healthcare services and results in overuse, which increases healthcare costs. DPC is a practice and payment model where patients pay their physician or practice directly in the form of periodic payments for a defined set of primary care services that aim to address the majority of reasons for which a patient would see their doctor.
2. The high administrative costs and lost clinical productivity imposed on physicians by the fee-for-service model have contributed to physician burnout and reduced the availability of primary care providers.
3. The DPC model offers an alternative that reduces healthcare costs while increasing the time that physicians spend with patients. DPC practices can reduce administrative financial overhead by approximately 40 percent. SB 101 is an exciting innovation in that it expands the DPC model beyond primary care.

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SOURCE: https://www.mercatus.org/publications/healthcare/benefits-direct-primary-care-improving-quality-and-reducing-costs-healthcare