Working as a locum tenens physician offers many advantages. However, employer-subsidized health insurance isn’t one of them. A new association of temporary physicians aims to change that.
The American Action Forum (AAF) reports that, “Employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) is the most common source of health insurance in the United States, covering around 156 million Americans in 2021.”
Based on data from eHealth, the AAF documents ESI’s value as follows:
- Employees value ESI at 75–84% more than employers, and employees together pay for it, generating an annual private value of at least $800 billion.
- After accounting for the tax subsidy, ESI provides an annual net economic benefit to society of at least $600 billion by reducing fiscal pressures on subsidized insurance programs and encouraging work and business formation.
- In total, ESI generates around $1.5 trillion annually in social value beyond what workers, employers, and taxpayers pay for it, or nearly $10,000 per insured individual.
This valuable employee benefit is, in large part, what motivated critical care locum tenens physician Dr. Stephanie Freeman to found the National Association of Locums and Independent Physicians (NALIP). “It’s a big reason people stay burned out in bad jobs,” she says.
Breaking Down Barriers
Having worked as a locums physician since 2008, Dr. Freeman wanted other physicians to experience the freedom and flexibility she enjoys through the independent work style. However, in talking to colleagues, she discovered that the perceived inability to obtain quality health insurance at a competitive rate is the main barrier to doctors’ pursuing locum tenens medical practice.
Locum tenens physicians (or advanced clinical practitioners) are responsible for obtaining their own benefits like medical, life, and disability insurance. “Because these products are costly if obtained by an individual, many physicians find themselves unable to qualify for, or afford, these products for themselves and their families,” Dr. Freeman says.
Realizing there’s strength in numbers, she took advantage of downtime while on locum tenens assignments during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and began researching how to make these essential benefits more affordable and accessible.
Remaining Fiercely Independent
The board-certified critical care physician has done it pretty much alone over the past two years: “I bootstrapped everything,” Dr. Freeman says. “I funded it myself and, without any real staff, made my concept a reality.”
Meanwhile, she worked locum tenens assignments in locations from Alaska to Florida, with Indiana in between.
She shares that she learned her work ethic from her single mom, a teacher who “always had extra jobs” to support Dr. Freeman and her brother. “Following in my mom’s footsteps, I started working at age 11,” she says,
As a doctor, she started ‘moonlighting’ through contract assignments to supplement her income. She stopped at a CompHealth booth during a conference and decided to try locum tenens. “Following my first assignment in Pikeville, Kentucky, I was hooked,” Dr. Freeman says, noting that during the COVID-19 lockdown, she literally had a commercial flight all to herself.
Getting It Off the Ground
According to the NALIP’s website, the professional association “was born with the purpose of exhibiting strength in numbers as we provide competitive insurance resources for locums and independent physicians (medical practice owners, moonlighting physicians, or any physician receiving 1099 pay).
“Additionally, we offer support, education, and networking through our online job board, virtual and live events, online community, and a series of educational courses.”
Perhaps the best part: NALIP membership is also affordable at only $19.99 per month. Dr. Freeman says she’s getting 1-2 physicians a day to join so far, to have 1,000 members within six to eight months. Because membership is so affordable, many locums and independent physicians are paying for the whole year when they join, but there’s no additional cost for paying by the month.
Noting that the NALIP is a (soon-to-be) non-profit organization, Dr. Freeman concludes, “We really want to be of service to locum and independent physicians.”
Related
“Dr. Stephanie” Stays Beyond Busy
A formidable competitor for the Energizer Bunny, “Dr. Stephanie” (as she’s known to career-coaching clients) launched the National Association of Locums and Independent Physicians (its “soft opening”) in July 2022 – about six weeks after hosting her first live, on-site “Locums Doc Summit.”
Dr. Freeman launched the summit virtually in October 2021 as a way to gauge interest. Attendance was so strong that she decided to proceed with a hybrid event designed to help physicians jumpstart a career in locum tenens. She hosted the “live” conference on May 20 and 21 in Houston and also streamed it online.
During an optional VIP Day on May 19, Dr. Freeman led a six-hour virtual group coaching session to help participants identify what they wanted from locum tenens medical practice and what to expect on their first assignment. She plans to host the summit twice a year going forward.
If you’d prefer to learn about locum tenens on your own, Dr. Stephanie offers tools to help. Choose between two self-paced courses about the ‘fill-in physician’ game–or buy a now-discounted “Critical Care Refresher” course developed to help non-critical-care physicians improve their emergency medical skills. Or buy one of her books including Doc for Hire, Locums Life Lessons, or Real World Medicine (the last subtitled “What Your Attending Didn’t Tell You
and Your Professor Didn’t Know”).
Two weekends after our interview (August 26-28), Dr. Freeman pulled off another “first”: the inaugural conference of a second professional group she founded, the Council of Black Women Physicians. Also held in her home base of Houston, the gathering promised to celebrate and connect the growing group as they, “Master our Mindset, Mind our Money, Make Moves In Medicine, and Maximize Our Mission.”
Kinda’ makes an ordinary person feel like a slacker, right? Mmm hmm!
