[Alert - this post is openly brown-nosing a friend's new venture launch. And I'm glad to do it!]

Super nice and authentic guy Dr. Jay Parkinson, whom i count as a personal friend and all-around good man, is officially opening Hello Health’s first store-front office this evening.  I sincerely wish that Nashville wasn’t so far away from NYC as I’d really like to be there to personally support and congratulate him.

Hello Health is located in NYC area or more specifically: Williamsburg at 105 Berry and North 8th Street. Members pay a $25 monthly fee, and an additional $75-100 per visit depending on condition.

His idea: target those who are uninsured, and offer them doctor services on a pay-per-visit basis, with the option to text, IM or email when you have questions or concerns. In a new development, Parkinson has decided to franchise his operations (which he now describes as "Geek Squad as doctors with a Netflix-type subscription fee") and is opening his first brick-and-mortar storefront.

I am neither in NYC nor uninsured. But, dang , I wish that someone in Nashville would get "ballsy enough" to open here in Nashville - as I would be one of the first people to sign up.

Ironically, as more employees begin to realize that they are getting more financial responsibility shiffted on to their own shoulders, an obvious unintended shift is/will happen — people are natural consumers and will want [nay, expect ] a better healthcare consumer experience when they spend their own dollar.

Yes, I would expect to hear about more and more people willing to pay for a Hello Health in their city.