It's called 'concierge care', and some patients pay up to $50,000.00/year for a high level of access to their doctor. In return, the doctor typically has many fewer patients, and consequently far fewer hassles with insurance companies, Medicare, etc. than 'regular' physicians...who have seen a steady decline in their reimbursement per patient over the last 10-15 years to the point that they are forced to run flat-out just to make ends meet.

Don't count on this degree of time and TLC from ANY doctor under a single-payer system, either...instead, imagine what the country will be like when it's all one great, big, happy VA hospital....