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| Newsletter: June-July, 2008 |
Frank H. Lucido M.D.2300 Durant AvenueBerkeley, Ca, 94704510-848-0958[email protected]www.DrLucido.comwww.MedBoardWatch.comwww.AIMLegal.org
General and Family Practice: Your Family Doctor since 1979
Medical Cannabis Consultant Since 1996
Expert Witness for Patients and Physicians
Courtroom Testimony
Lecturer on “Medical Cannabis: Medicine, Politics, and the Law”
Founder of MedicalBoardWatch.com
Founder of AIMLegal.org
June, 2008 MedicalBoardWatch.com and DrLucido.com newslettter
Dr. Lucido Ends Ties to Insurance Industry “Managed Care”
Major changes in Dr. Frank Lucido’s Primary Care Practice
Primary Care and Medical Cannabis Practice now open to new patients
Primary Care Practice No Longer a “Participating Provider” for Health Insurance
First of all, I want to thank you all for referring your friends, families and co-workers to our practice. It has been the reason we have been in practice for over 28 years.
We really appreciate it!
As most of you know, I have been practicing Family and General Medicine in Berkeley since 1979. Residency-trained in Family Practice, I am what is known as a “Primary Care Provider”, or PCP. In addition, for over 10 years, our practice has included the invaluable services of Maria Mangini, PhD, FNP, UCSF trained in Family Nurse Practice and Women’s Health. Maria is also an excellent, conscientious Primary Care Provider, whose academic and clinical experience has added a depth to our practice that I have found increasingly valuable over the years.
As of March 1, 2008, after 28 years of ever-increasing paperwork to get ever-decreasing reimbursement from managed care insurance plans, our practice is no longer a “Participating Provider” under any insurance plan.
Patients with PPO insurance (Participating Provider Organization) can still choose to see us “off-plan” but we will no longer bill insurance companies directly. Instead we will provide our patients with billing documents for them to submit to request reimbursement for our fees.
My medical cannabis practice will remain unchanged, as we have never accepted insurance for medical cannabis visits.
Already I feel more relaxed, and am happier. I also have more time to spend with patients, and more patience with everyone.
It feels like a 28 year-old cloud has lifted from me, and happily, it appears the majority of our patients will be able to remain with us.
Of course, we also have room for new patients, so please keep us in mind for referrals of friends and family, either for primary care or for medical cannabis evaluations.
Peace and Health,
Frank H. Lucido MD
Family Practice since 1979
Medical Cannabis Consultation
Expert Witness
2300 Durant Avenue
Berkeley Ca 94704
510.848.0958 (by appointment only)
www.MedicalBoardWatch.com
www.DrLucido.com
P.S.: For a general idea of our fees, patients can expect to pay about $500 for the first year, and $250 each subsequent year. For this, they get their annual history and physical, with overall assessment and treatment plan. Additional appointments, if needed, for intercurrent illness or medication management, are extra, and generally run $95.
In addition, our primary care patients have emergency 24 hour, 7 days a week “on call” phone availability with a local physician.
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