Laws of physic.

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Talk is cheap, but not when it's with a doctor. Getting the time and attention I want from mine cost me $2,750 this year--my membership fee to Signature Healthcare, one of the retainer-based medical practices you'll read about in the story that starts on page 60. That's with a discount, since my wife thready was a member when I joined in January, and on top of what Signature bills for visits and treatment to my insurance company, to which I'm paying an annual premium of $9,058.68 for health coverage. Since our company has a high-deductible plan, let's not forget the $1,500 that came out of my pocket before those benefits kicked in--though all that went toward other medical expenses.

Healthy, wealthy and wise. It certainly helps to be the second if you want to stay the first, but how smart is it to pay a hefty fee for what is essentially increased access to a primary-care physician? It's not for everybody, because not everybody can afford it. Some Signature members, many of them busy executives, see it as an investment. If that's the case, has it been a savvy one for me?

Having to pay more for health care has made me pay more attention to my health, if for no other reason than to make sure I get my money's worth. But I probably never would have taken that step if the doctor I had been going to for more than a decade had not grown so frustrated...

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