The concierge medicine earnings conversation starts with a number that makes most physicians reconsider their career paths: $500,000 to $700,000 per year. That’s what elite practices like Private Medical pay for the right practitioner. Compare that to the $200,000 to $300,000 a successful internist earns in traditional practice, and you understand why the physician migration to concierge models keeps accelerating.
The Business Model That Changed Medicine
Concierge medicine operates on a membership fee model. Patients pay an annual retainer, typically $1,200 to $100,000 depending on the tier, for enhanced access, longer appointments, and comprehensive care coordination. In exchange, physicians maintain dramatically smaller patient panels, usually 50 to 600 patients versus the 2,500-plus in traditional practice.
The math is straightforward. A physician charging $40,000 per patient with 50 patients generates $2 million in annual revenue from membership fees alone. Even after overhead, the physician’s take-home dwarfs anything possible in the insurance-based system. At scale, the numbers are even more compelling. MDVIP, the largest concierge network, serves 230,000 members with average annual fees of approximately $1,700 per patient.
The Tiers: From Accessible to Ultra-Elite
Concierge medicine exists on a spectrum. At the entry level, practices like MDVIP charge $1,700 annually for smaller patient panels, same-day appointments, and comprehensive annual physicals. Members range from CEOs to teachers who prioritize healthcare access.
Mid-tier practices charge $4,000 to $10,000 per year, offering extended visit times, care coordination, and after-hours access. PartnerMD, for instance, offers membership tiers starting at roughly $4,200 annually. These practices typically maintain 400 to 600 patients per physician, a sweet spot between accessibility and personalized attention.
At the ultra-premium level, firms like Private Medical rewrite the rules entirely. Founded by Dr. Jordan Shlain, the company charges $40,000 per adult and $25,000 for patients under 18. With over 1,000 wealthy families served by a team of 135 physicians, nurses, and clinical staff, Private Medical functions as what Shlain describes as “a family office for your health.” His network of 4,000-plus specialists enables immediate connections to the right expert for any condition.
Physician Economics: Why Doctors Are Leaving
Traditional primary care is collapsing under its own economics. Physicians manage 2,500 or more patients, spend seven to ten minutes per appointment, and face perpetual insurance reimbursement battles. Burnout is epidemic. Before transitioning to concierge medicine, many physicians report working 4:30 AM to past 6 PM managing thousands of patients in an unsustainable cadence.
Concierge medicine offers the inverse. Fewer patients, longer appointments (30 minutes minimum versus 10 minutes standard), higher compensation, and better work-life balance. Consequently, physicians at elite practices earn double or triple their traditional salaries. The financial incentive drives continued physician migration, particularly as healthcare system pressures intensify.
The Market Trajectory
The concierge medicine market reached nearly $7 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow by more than 50% by 2032, reaching nearly $11 billion annually. Upward of 3 million Americans used concierge services by 2020, a number that has only accelerated post-pandemic.
Moreover, the ultra-premium tier is growing fastest. The rise of family office-style medical practices reflects the surge in wealth among families worth $100 million or more and growing demand for hyper-personalized, data-driven healthcare. This demographic doesn’t view concierge medicine as a luxury. They view it as infrastructure.
The Systemic Cost
Critics argue concierge medicine widens healthcare inequality. As physicians migrate to boutique practices, the remaining population faces longer wait times and reduced physician availability. Scientific American research documents how physician migration to concierge practices exacerbates existing primary care shortages.
Nevertheless, proponents argue that concierge medicine’s emphasis on prevention actually reduces downstream healthcare costs. Comprehensive annual physicals catch problems early. Coordinated care prevents specialist fragmentation. And the additional time spent with patients leads to better outcomes that ultimately reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
The Longevity Connection
Concierge medicine is the on-ramp to the longevity industry. Elite practices increasingly incorporate longevity protocols, advanced biomarker testing, and personalized aging interventions into their service menus. Executive health assessments serve as the diagnostic entry point, while ongoing care management turns wealthy patients into recurring longevity consumers.
For context on how much affluent Americans spend on this ecosystem annually, see our old money wellness spending decoder.