Questions to Ask a Las Vegas Concierge Practice Before You Join

Why this decision needs its own checklist

Concierge medicine (sometimes called membership medicine or direct primary care) means paying an annual or monthly fee directly to a practice, on top of or instead of what your insurance covers, in exchange for things like same-day appointments, longer visits, and direct phone or text access to a doctor. Las Vegas has a growing number of these practices as the broader physician shortage pushes more doctors to shrink their patient panels. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the United States faces a projected shortage of tens of thousands of primary care physicians over the next decade, and Nevada has consistently ranked among the states with fewer primary care doctors per resident, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). That shortage is part of why concierge models exist and why fees vary so widely from one practice to the next.

This is not medical advice. It is a guide to the business and logistics questions worth asking before you sign a membership agreement. Talk to your own doctor or a trusted clinician about whether any specific care model fits your health needs.

The core money questions

Concierge fees nationally range from roughly $1,500 to $10,000+ per year per person, according to reporting cited by health policy researchers at KFF, with wide variation depending on the level of access promised. Las Vegas-specific pricing is not something to guess at here; ask each practice for a written fee schedule and confirm:

• What exactly does the annual or monthly fee cover, and what is billed separately?
• Does the fee change with age, health status, or family size?
• Is this fee submitted to insurance, or is it a separate membership charge regardless of coverage?
• Do you still need a separate insurance plan or Medicare for labs, specialists, hospital stays, and prescriptions? (Concierge fees almost never replace insurance.)
• What happens to the fee if you travel for months at a time, a common pattern in a city with a large seasonal and shift-work population?
• Is there a cancellation policy and a refund window if the practice isn't a fit?

Questions about Medicare and insurance status

If you're on Medicare, ask directly whether the practice is a Medicare-participating provider, a non-participating provider, or has opted out of Medicare entirely. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), concierge fees themselves are generally not reimbursable by Medicare because they cover access and amenities rather than billable medical services, but the actual office visits and tests may still be billed to Medicare if the doctor participates. This distinction changes what you'll owe out of pocket, so get it in writing, not just verbally.

Ask:

• Are you enrolled in Medicare, and if so, as a participating or non-participating provider?
• If I have private insurance, will you bill it for visits, or is everything self-pay on top of the membership?
• Can I see this doctor for both the membership-covered visits and anything insurance would normally cover, without double billing confusion?

Access and staffing questions (the part people underestimate)

The main selling point of concierge care is access, so press on the specifics rather than accepting "you'll have my cell number" at face value.

• How many patients are in this doctor's panel? (Traditional primary care panels often run 1,500 to 2,500 patients per doctor; many concierge practices advertise panels in the 300 to 800 range, based on ranges commonly cited by primary care workforce researchers, though exact panel sizes vary practice to practice and should be confirmed directly.)
• If the doctor is out sick, on vacation, or leaves the practice, who covers you, and what access do you have then?
• Same-day appointments: is that a guarantee or a "usually"?
• After-hours or weekend access: phone, text, portal message, or in-person, and what's the realistic response time?
• If I need a specialist, hospital admission, or ER care, does this doctor coordinate that, or am I on my own once I leave their office?
• Is there a nurse or physician assistant handling messages, or does the doctor personally respond?

Questions about credentials and licensure

Before joining any practice, confirm the physician is licensed and in good standing. You can verify this yourself through the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners (for MDs) or the Nevada State Board of Osteopathic Medicine (for DOs), both of which maintain public license lookup tools. Ask the practice directly:

• What is your board certification, and in what specialty?
• How long have you practiced in Nevada, and how long has this specific practice existed?
• If the practice is a business entity, is it registered with the Nevada Secretary of State? (You can look up any registered business entity yourself.)

The five things worth asking in an actual meet-and-greet

Most concierge practices offer a free or low-cost consultation before you commit. Use it to ask, in plain language:

1. What does a typical first visit and first three months look like with you?
2. What's a situation where a patient of yours needed something you couldn't provide, and what happened next?
3. How do you handle a member who wants to leave the practice?
4. Can I talk to a current patient or see anonymized reviews about responsiveness?
5. What happens to my care and my records if you retire, relocate, or the practice closes?

That last question matters more in a transient market like Las Vegas, where physician turnover and practice consolidation happen for reasons unrelated to the quality of care.

Common problems patients report with concierge arrangements

Being fair to both sides matters here. Reported friction points, drawn from patient advocacy discussions and health policy commentary rather than any single source, tend to include:

• Fee creep: annual renewal at a higher rate than the first year.
• Access promises that quietly change once the practice's membership fills up.
• Confusion about what's still billed to insurance versus what's covered by the membership fee.
• Feeling locked in after paying an annual fee upfront, with limited refund options if the relationship isn't working.
• Assuming concierge access replaces urgent care or ER for true emergencies, when it does not.

Who this model is probably not right for

Concierge care tends to suit people who see a doctor often, value fast access, and can absorb the added membership cost on top of insurance or Medicare. It is generally a weaker fit for someone who is healthy and rarely needs care, someone on a tight fixed income who cannot add a recurring fee to existing insurance premiums, or someone who moves between insurance plans and doctors frequently and doesn't want a long-term membership commitment. None of that is a judgment on the medical quality of concierge care itself, which depends on the individual doctor, only on whether the financial and access tradeoffs match your situation.

A short checklist to bring to your first meeting

• Written fee schedule, including renewal terms
• Medicare/insurance participation status, in writing
• Panel size and after-hours coverage plan
• Coverage plan for when the doctor is unavailable
• Cancellation and refund policy
• License verification through the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners
• Business registration check through the Nevada Secretary of State, if relevant
• A specific plan for what happens if you need a specialist, hospital, or ER

This page is educational information, not medical advice. Decisions about your care and any care model should be made with a licensed physician who knows your health history.

Related in this guide

• Concierge Medicine in Las Vegas: How Membership Practices Work and What They Cost
• Why the Number of Patients Your Doctor Has Changes Your Care in Las Vegas