MDVIP, the largest concierge medicine network in the country with 1,400 physicians, is moving into specialty care.
The company built its business on adult primary care memberships. Now MDVIP is piloting concierge cardiology and endocrinology, and considering pediatrics, according to CEO Larry Kutscher in a recent interview.
NextMD directory data shows what the pilot likely costs: $5,100 a year for an MDVIP-affiliated cardiologist in Beverly Hills, roughly double the network's $2,500 average primary care fee.
"We're doing those in small numbers of doctors right now, and we're doing some other different specialists."[1]
The pilot is already visible. In Beverly Hills, two Cedars-Sinai cardiologists run the practice behind that fee, with a capped panel, hour-long appointments, and 24/7 physician access.[2]
On MDVIP's own physician recruiting form, the specialty menu now runs well past primary care: cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology, obstetrics and gynecology, pulmonary disease, rheumatology, and pediatrics.[3]
Children's care is the one item on that menu the company has not built. "Pediatrics is on our list. We've not done it yet," Kutscher said.[1] This article covers what MDVIP is actually doing, specialty by specialty, what it costs, and where kids fit.
What Kutscher Put on the Record
Kutscher has run MDVIP for two years. He gave the numbers on the Conversations with Perry and Friends podcast, published June 25 by Managed Healthcare Executive.[1]
450,000 members. The company's own patient pages listed over 400,000 earlier this year.[1][4]
1,400 physicians in 46 states. The same pages listed 1,100.[1][4]
A $2,500 average annual fee for an individual member, which Kutscher called "not that different than a gym membership." Across the network, primary care fees run $1,800 to $4,500 depending on the doctor and the city.[1][5]
Endocrinology and cardiology pilots are live, with what he described as small numbers of doctors.[1]
Pediatrics is under consideration. "It's slightly different because of the way the dynamics of pediatrics works," he said.[1]
One more detail from the interview: Kutscher prefers to call all of this "membership medicine" rather than concierge care.[1]
What an MDVIP Cardiology Practice Looks Like
Beverly Hills Cardiovascular & Longevity Institute, in Beverly Hills, California, markets itself as "Personalized Cardiology, Redefined by MDVIP."[2] It shows what the cardiology pilot produces: MDVIP's primary care model, transplanted into a specialty.
The two physicians are board-certified cardiologists and attending physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Sam Setareh directs cardiovascular performance and prevention and wrote a chapter of Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, a standard cardiology textbook. Dr. David M. Filsoof directs advanced cardiac imaging and trained at the Mayo Clinic and Cedars-Sinai.[2] Both carry MDVIP physician profiles on mdvip.com.[2]
The membership mechanics match the primary care product:[2]
A panel capped around 600 patients, against the 2,000-plus a traditional practice carries
Appointments of 60 minutes or more, with same-day and next-day access
24/7 physician access by phone, email, or portal
An annual wellness program tuned to the heart: advanced cardiovascular risk assessment, metabolic and lipid panels, body composition, exercise capacity testing, and sleep evaluation
The price sits above MDVIP's primary care range. Both doctors' memberships list at $5,100 per year, or $425 per month (NextMD directory data). That buys a cardiologist as your membership doctor, rather than a primary care physician with a cardiology referral list.
This can be seen on their website as well, MDVIP's physician sign-up form asks for a primary specialty, and the menu lists cardiology and endocrinology ahead of family medicine and internal medicine.[3] The same page tells physicians the model "works alongside Medicare and commercial insurance," with routine visits billed as usual while the membership fee covers prevention work insurers do not reimburse.[3]
Why Cardiology First
Cardiology is the specialty where the access problem is easiest to measure.
A new cardiology patient waits an average of 33 days for an appointment, 74 percent longer than in 2004. In Washington, D.C., the average cardiology wait has reached 175 days.[6]
1,454 U.S. counties have no cardiologist at all. 22 million people live in them, and the average round trip to reach one is 87 miles.[7]
Heart patients need repeat attention. Blood pressure checks, cholesterol management, medication adjustments, and imaging follow-ups all reward a doctor with time, and punish a system where the next open slot is a month out.
Concierge cardiologists were selling a way around that wait before MDVIP arrived. In 2015, a trade publication could find about 25 of them in the country.[9] By 2024, cardiology was 8 percent of all concierge physicians, the largest single specialty in the field's main industry poll.[8] Ambulatory Cardiovascular Center in West Orange, New Jersey, where board-certified cardiologist Dr. Christoph Sossou runs a membership practice, is one working example.[10]
Independent concierge cardiology is also cheaper than the MDVIP version. The hybrid model, where a cardiologist keeps billing insurance and sells an access tier on top, has historically run $150 to $200 per month.[9] Cardiology memberships listed on NextMD commonly run $200 to $1,500 per month (NextMD directory data) with the higher end practices normally not publishing rates. MDVIP's $5,100 Beverly Hills fee buys access to the brand, the wellness program, and Cedars-Sinai-affiliated physicians, at a premium of roughly $1,000 a year over the top of that range.
Why Endocrinology Is the Other Pilot
Endocrinology makes sense as their second specialty as there are too many patients, too few doctors.
40.1 million Americans have diabetes, diagnosed or undiagnosed, which is 12 percent of the population. Another 115.2 million adults have prediabetes.[11]
The specialty is short roughly 1,500 adult endocrinologists, a gap the Endocrine Society's workforce study projected would widen to 2,700 without more fellowship training. Rising diabetes prevalence drives the demand side.[12]
The work is continuous. Diabetes and thyroid disease are managed through medication adjustments and lab trends over years. A patient whose insulin dose needs review does better with a doctor who answers this week than one booked out three months.
The concierge version already exists at the independent level. A February 2026 NEJM CareerCenter report on concierge medicine's spread into the specialties names The Endocrine Center in Fairfax, Virginia, run by endocrinologist Dr. Denise Armellini, as a working example, alongside concierge rheumatology and women's health practices.[13]
For MDVIP, the overlap with its existing product is direct. The network's wellness program already runs the metabolic and lipid panels that anchor endocrine care.[2] A membership model that charges for prevention and time fits a disease that is managed month by month rather than cured. Our guide to concierge medicine for chronic conditions covers what that management looks like from the patient side.
Children's Care Is on the List, Not in the Product
MDVIP does not treat children today. What exists is intent.
Kutscher, asked where the network goes after the current pilots: "Pediatrics is on our list. We've not done it yet. It's slightly different because of the way the dynamics of pediatrics works, but I'm a believer down the road that there might be something there."[1]
The plumbing is further along than the quote suggests. Pediatrics already appears on MDVIP's physician recruiting menu, between obstetrics and pulmonary disease.[3] The form is ready. The product is not.
The dynamics he mentions are real. Pediatric care front-loads into the first years of life with a dense well-child and vaccination schedule, the buyer is a parent rather than the patient, and the purchase usually covers several children at once. Pediatricians were also just 3 percent of concierge physicians in the 2024 industry poll, so the specialty has less existing concierge infrastructure to convert.[8]
Families who want membership care for their kids now do not need to wait. NextMD directory data shows 203 membership practices built around pediatric care across concierge, direct primary care (DPC), and hybrid models. DPC is the flat-fee version, typically $50 to $200 per month paid straight to the practice. Our parent's guide to concierge and DPC care for kids covers how those memberships work.
Who Built MDVIP
MDVIP signs up independent doctors, caps their panels at about 600 patients, and charges members an annual fee on top of regular insurance.[4] Our profile of what MDVIP is and what it costs covers the company in detail.
Two internists in Boca Raton, Florida, Dr. Edward Goldman and Dr. Robert Colton, founded the company in 2000 with their own seed money.[14] The first membership sold for $1,500 a year.[15] Since then, MDVIP has passed through five owners:
Summit Partners, minority stake, 2004[16]
Procter & Gamble, 2009[16]
Summit Partners again, 2014[16]
Leonard Green & Partners, majority, 2017[17]
Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Charlesbank Capital Partners, majority, 2021[18]
Kutscher took over as CEO in 2024. Before MDVIP he ran A Place for Mom, TravelClick, and Register.com, and he started his career at American Express and Goldman Sachs.[1]
Year Five of the Ownership Clock
The current owners bought MDVIP in 2021.[18] Private equity (PE) firms, meaning investment firms that buy companies, grow them, and sell them, typically exit within five to seven years. That makes 2026 year five.
A company preparing for a sale benefits from new lines of growth, and specialty care is where the market data points. Grand View Research values the U.S. concierge medicine market at $7.35 billion in 2024, projects $13.23 billion by 2030, and already tracks cardiology and pediatrics as their own segments.[19] A network that can show 450,000 members plus working specialty products gives the next buyer more to pay for than an adult primary care company that stopped adding lines.
What This Means If You Need a Specialist Now
The practical version of this story is a price and access comparison.
Option | Typical fee | What you get |
|---|---|---|
MDVIP primary care | $1,800 to $4,500 per year | Primary care doctor, ~600-patient cap, wellness program, 24/7 access |
MDVIP-affiliated cardiology | $5,100 per year (Beverly Hills listing) | Cardiologist as your membership doctor, hour-long visits, cardiac-focused wellness program |
Independent concierge specialist | $150 to $1,500 per month | Small panel and a direct line to a specialist; visits and tests still billed to insurance |
Fee sources: MDVIP range per PartnerMD;[5] Beverly Hills and independent specialist ranges per NextMD directory data and Cardiovascular Business.[9]
Every option above keeps your regular insurance. The membership buys access and time. The medicine still bills the way it always did.
MDVIP moving into specialty care tells the market the membership model is expanding past the annual physical. If you want that kind of care now, from a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, or a pediatrician for your kids, independent physician-led practices already sell it in most major metros.
NextMD does not provide any medical information. NextMD helps you find and compare concierge and direct primary care practices across the United States, including specialty and pediatric membership practices. Browse by city, compare pricing, and view doctor credentials at nextmd.ai/search.
Sources
Cohen, P. and Wehrwein, P. (2026, June 25). Conversations with Perry and Friends: Larry Kutscher, MBA, CEO and Board Director, MDVIP. Managed Healthcare Executive. Reports 450,000 members, 1,400 physicians in 46 states, the ~$2,500 average individual fee, the endocrinology and cardiology pilots, the pediatrics quotes, and Kutscher's career background. Read the interview
Beverly Hills Cardiovascular & Longevity Institute. (2026). MDVIP Affiliated Cardiology Practice. Practice page describing the MDVIP affiliation, the ~600-patient cap, 60+ minute appointments, 24/7 access, the cardiac wellness program, and the credentials of Dr. Sam Setareh and Dr. David M. Filsoof. Read the practice's MDVIP page
MDVIP. (2026). The MDVIP Model (for Physicians). Physician recruiting page whose primary-specialty menu lists cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, pulmonary disease, and rheumatology, and which describes compatibility with Medicare and commercial insurance. Read the MDVIP physician page
MDVIP. (2026). Membership Overview and Patient FAQ. Company description of the affiliation model, the ~600-patient panel cap, access benefits, and network scale. mdvip.com/patients/membership-overview
PartnerMD. (2025). Comparing Concierge Medicine: PartnerMD vs. MDVIP. States MDVIP membership runs $1,800 to $4,500 per year depending on location and physician. Comparing PartnerMD and MDVIP
HealthLeaders Media. (2025). Survey: Physician Wait Times Surge 19% Since 2022. Reporting on AMN Healthcare's 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times, including the 33-day average cardiology wait and the 175-day Washington, D.C. figure. Read on HealthLeaders
American College of Cardiology. (2024, July 8). Almost Half of US Counties Have No Cardiologists Despite Higher Prevalence of CV Risk Factors, Mortality. Press release on the JACC study. Read the ACC release
Concierge Medicine Today. (2026). Media Desk: Industry Statistics (2024 physician poll: cardiology 8 percent and pediatrics 3 percent of concierge physicians). Read the CMT media desk
Cardiovascular Business. (2018, January 18). Call of Concierge: Still a Niche in Cardiology, But Growing. Reports roughly 25 concierge cardiologists nationally in 2015 and historical hybrid pricing of $150 to $200 per month. Read on Cardiovascular Business
Ambulatory Cardiovascular Center. (2026). Concierge Cardiology. Read the practice's concierge cardiology page
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026, January 21). National Diabetes Statistics Report. 40.1 million Americans with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes (12.0% of the population); 115.2 million adults with prediabetes. Read the CDC report
Vigersky, R.A., et al. (2014). The Clinical Endocrinology Workforce: Current Status and Future Projections of Supply and Demand. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 99(9). Endocrine Society-commissioned study finding a shortage of ~1,500 adult endocrinologists, projected to reach 2,700 without increased fellowship training. Find on PubMed
NEJM CareerCenter Resources. (2026, February 17). Concierge Medicine Making Inroads in the Specialties. Names The Endocrine Center (Dr. Denise Armellini, Fairfax, VA) among working concierge specialty practices. Read on NEJM CareerCenter
Sun Sentinel. (2005). Very Important Patient. Identifies Dr. Ed Goldman (president) and co-founder Dr. Robert Colton of Boca Raton as MDVIP's founders, funded with their own and friends' seed money. Very Important Patient
Pounds, S. (2001). Doctor Offers VIP Service for $1,500 Annual Fee. The Ledger. Reports the $1,500 first-year annual fee and the reduced patient panel at launch. Doctor Offers VIP Service
Summit Partners. (2021). Companies: MDVIP. States Summit first invested in 2004, held a minority interest until Procter & Gamble's acquisition in 2009, and acquired MDVIP from P&G in 2014. Summit Partners: MDVIP
Leonard Green & Partners. (2017). Leonard Green & Partners Acquires Majority Ownership of MDVIP from Summit Partners. November 2017 acquisition of a majority interest. Leonard Green announcement
Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Charlesbank Capital Partners. (2021). Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Charlesbank Capital Partners to Acquire Majority Ownership of MDVIP. Announced August 2021, closed October 2021. Acquisition press release
Grand View Research. (2025). U.S. Concierge Medicine Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report, 2025-2030. Market valued at $7.35 billion (2024), projected to $13.23 billion by 2030, with cardiology and pediatrics tracked as segments. Read the market report