Depressing to read the news and the prediction of 400,000 deaths by February, looking at a broken system.(1, 8)  No hospital beds and nowhere to turn. A system that is held back but the lack of innovation and willingness to understand that people will pay for meaningful healthcare.  UrgentEMS is being held hostage by the concepts of insurance and the inability to accept other paths to payment, this will be deadly.   

There are many options available beyond just traditional insurance,
such as accessing money market accounts, promissory notes with reasonable collateral, grants, employer-sponsored solutions, and cost-sharing solutions. Payment is important but we are at a point of national crisis. A crisis creating opportunities to innovate the healthcare delivery model.

With Dr. Tiffany Najberg DO, FACEP joining the team, UrgentEMS is on the verge of being able to provide our solutions to families and patients over the hybrid telehealth network.  We are not afraid of NON PAYMENT, because we believe meaningful healthcare can be provided in a cost-effective manner that people will payfor.

It is imperative for UrgentEMS to complete the Wefunder so we can purchase the necessary malpractice insurance, hire personnel, basic hardware, and operational overhead to begin operations. 

Once we have the funds in hand Dr. Najberg DO and UrgentEMS will begin operations as concierge practice initially to prove our concepts as we concurrently pursue credentials for CMS and insurers.   We will not be paralyzed by inaction as we open this market, based on the concept of Insurance.  People we know people are not being served and will die without services.  Care can be provided cost-effectively and affordably over the hybrid telehealth network. 

UrgentEMS can start operations within a matter of weeks provided the necessary funds are available.  From that point on we will expand our network adding additional physicians and midlevel providers, by replicating our plans nationally using the technology we are putting in place. 

There is absolutely no reason for basic affordable access to Dr. Najberg or the team based on the need for between $50 to $2000 per interaction based on the level of services required while living up to our "Healthcare Brought to You" mission. 

Even the most optimistic cost for a simple ambulance ride without definitive care will cost $500 and the average ER visit will cost $1,500 to enter the building.  The median cost of uninsured or out of network Covid 19 treatment has been estimated at $73.300 per hospitalization. (2) Provided you can get a hospital bed.  UrgentEMS believes if we can monitor the health vital signs of a person on a space station, surely we can provide monitoring of patients in their homes before they become in need of ICU care.

It is possible to provide lung ultrasounds to monitor for pneumonia, CPAP, Bipap, Oxygen, IVs, Point of care labs, and antibiotics in a patient's home if well monitored over a telehealth network in extreme cases.  People should not be forced to confront this potential disaster alone.  Or be forced to go inpatient alone unless requiring hands-on ICU care.  

Inclosing, the market is real and there is a need to be met not by a video conference but by providing real meaningful care in the home.  If the crisis gets worse people have been and will be sent home to die for lack of inpatient beds. (4, 5)

                                           References provided below.

1. “IHME: COVID-19 Projections.” Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america?view=total-deaths.

2.  “Costs for a Hospital Stay for COVID-19: FAIR Health.” Costs for a Hospital Stay for COVID-19 | FAIR Health, www.fairhealth.org/article/costs-for-a-hospital-stay-for-covid-19.

3.  Annie Waldman, Joshua Kaplan. “Sent Home to Die.” ProPublica, www.propublica.org/article/sent-home-to-die.

4. Koop, Chacour. “COVID-19 Patients Will Be 'Sent Home to Die' If Deemed Too Sick, Texas County Says.” Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, www.star-telegram.com/news/coronavirus/article244443257.html.

5. Stevis-gridneff, Matina, et al. “When Covid-19 Hit, Many Elderly Were Left to Die.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Aug. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/08/08/world/europe/coronavirus-nursing-homes-elderly.html.

6.  “IHME: COVID-19 Projections.” Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america?view=total-deaths.

7.  Stobbe, Mike. “Doctors May Be Better Equipped to Handle Latest Virus Surge.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 10 Nov. 2020, apnews.com/article/doctors-better-equipped-virus-surge-743c0448c3ada001d327d73a6f2ed9d7.

8.   Antonia Farzan, Jacqueline Dupree. “Live Updates: Hospitalizations Hit All-Time High as U.S. Sets Another Record with 145,000 New Infections.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Nov. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/12/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/.