Zocdoc has become an increasing presence in providers' practices. "The flat fee has limited our ability to sign up providers in rural and suburban markets," said Oliver Kharraz, Zocdoc's CEO.
Existing patient bookings won't trigger a charge. The company said the move was needed to make the service more attractive to doctors with fewer patients, who were dissuaded from signing up by the $300 per month, or $3,000 a year, fee per physician. Kharraz stated that Zocdoc’s model fully complies with the law, though the company plans to stop admitting Medicare and Medicaid patients in New York “until we have affirmative confirmation that it’s okay.Zocdoc said Tuesday it will begin charging doctors throughout the state for each new patient who books an appointment using its service instead of a monthly fee, effective April 1. Other healthcare providers are worried that the booking fee-based system will run afoul of state and federal regulations that bar doctors from paying third parties for referrals. For example, one New York dermatologist told CNBC that he estimates his costs will increase seven-fold. Many physicians claim that a model that charges per booking is unsustainable as they will not be able to recoup the costs incurred with each new patient. The payment model changes have not come without controversy. However, it has been a less sensible economic decision for the many providers who received fewer bookings via our Marketplace - particularly those in less densely populated rural and suburban markets or sub-specialized areas of medicine.” According to Zocdoc CEO Oliver Kharraz, the changes to the pricing structure were deemed necessary as the old subscription model made the service too expensive for certain healthcare providers to participate in: “Providers who receive a greater volume of bookings from our Marketplace have benefited the most from this flat fee structure. Zocdoc estimates that about half of New York’s participating providers will pay the same or less under the new pricing model as they did under the old. Providers will also have to pay an annual licensing fee to Zocdoc, though this fee will be less than the typical annual subscription fee of $3,600 under the old model.
This fee will be charged whether or not the patient actually attends the appointment and regardless of what services are provided. Under the new model, providers will pay a per-booking charge for each new customer, ranging from $35 for primary care physicians to $110 for dentists. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading this article.
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