Fueled by health law, 'concierge medicine' reaches new markets

A growing number of primary care doctors, spurred by the federal health law and frustrations with insurance requirements, are bringing a service that generally has been considered "health care for billionaires" to middle-income, Medicaid and Medicare populations. It's called direct primary care, modeled after "concierge" practices that have gained prominence in the past two decades. Those feature doctors generally bypassing insurance companies to provide personalized health care while charging a flat fee on a monthly or yearly basis. Patients can shell out anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars annually, getting care with an air of exclusivity.