LITTLETON, Colo. -- Some patients in the Denver area are having to ask themselves how much they would pay to stay with their current doctor.

At one practice, they will have to find an extra $1,500 a year for the privilege of an appointment.

Lakeview Family Medicine has joined a program called MDVIP.

Program administrators said patients will be treated like a "VIP" with shorter waits, longer visits, and other perks.

But, the exclusive program will leave thousands of people looking for a new doctor.

It's part of a trend called concierge medicine, where the patient pays their doctor an annual fee above and beyond insurance.

Doctors who choose this business model and become MDVIP's give their patients a take it or leave it proposal.

Pay up or find another doctor.

"I said , 'Are you kidding me?' I think this is ridiculous," said prospective patient Kimberle Rupert.

Rupert was in the process of switching to her husband's doctor at Lakeview Family Medicine when she first heard about the new, mandatory $1500 annual fee.

The doctor gets $1000 and $500 goes to the plan administrator, MDVIP.

"I was angry. Angry is probably a subtle word," Rupert said.

That is because Rupert and her husband do not have the $3,000 a year it would cost to stay at the practice.

Rupert said, after 23 years, her husband is looking for a new doctor.

"We're going to take care of fewer patients, but we're going to have more time to take care of those patients," said Dr. Paul Sunde, one of three physicians at Lakeview Family Medicine.

Call7 Investigator Theresa Marchetta asked Sunde, "Have you been providing substandard care to this point?"

Sunde said, "Definitely not."

Sunde said his practice is the first in Colorado to sign on with MDVIP. It is an administrative plan that limits each doctor to 600 patients.

"How many do you have right now?" asked Marchetta.

Sunde said, "You know it's a hard answer to, um, it would probably be somewhere around 2500 patients."

"A piece?" Marchetta replied.

"Yeah, a piece," said Sunde.

That means the doctors will have to cut nearly 6,000 patients from their practice.

"If spending time with your patients was so important to the three of you," asked Marchetta, "Why did you take on so many patients?"

Sunde said, "It's a difficult thing to manage."

"It's weeding out the people who don't have the money and the people who are older and can't pay it, and weeding out the people who are more sickly," said Rupert.

"What about an elderly patient on a fixed income whose investments are suffering who by no means has $1500, but has been in your care for years?" asked Marchetta.

"The tough ones would be some elderly folks that I've worked with for a long time," said Sunde.

"But you're willing to let them go?" asked Marchetta.

"It's a challenge," Sunde said.

"There are going to be a lot of people who have the initial reaction, 'Come on. How can you do this to your patients in this economic climate?' Because it's basically not a choice, they either sign on or find someone else, is that correct?" asked Marchetta.

"I would say it's definitely a choice," said Sunde.

For your money, MDVIP's Website said it goes "beyond concierge healthcare."

It promises patients a focus on prevention, an executive physical exam, a CD of your medical records, no waiting for appointments, 30 minute office visits and 24/7 access to your doctor.

"I don't think anyone gets any better care from this. In fact I think a whole lot less care gets delivered to the community as a whole by taking these resources and delivering them to a smaller and smaller number of people," said Dr. Mark Earnest.

Earnest is an internist and a University of Colorado medical professor.

He believes the MDVIP program is less about patient care and more about a lifestyle choice for the doctor.

"They get paid more and they work less and their life gets easier," said Earnest.

Earnest said practices that try concierge medicine are taking a gamble. But he thinks ultimately, its the patients who lose.

"I think it is going to increase the number of people floating around without a medical home and I think that's problematic," said Earnest.

Toni Bonacci requires the care of several specialists for a complicated medical condition.

She said she has never spent her money on extras like designer coffee and manicures and chooses to spend it on other priorities. She is excited about joining MDVIP.

"I think its going to end me going to as many specialists as I do," said Bonacci.

"I had that service without paying $1,500 for it," said Rupert.

She said, despite all the promises of VIP care, she still does not buy into the idea.

"You still have to have insurance. You still have to pay the doctor $1,500. You still pay for office visits. You still have to pay out of pocket for what the insurance makes you pay. So, where's the benefit?" Rupert said.

Doctors at the Lakeview practice are still listed as accepting new patients with their insurance providers, with no mention of their new $1,500 annual fee.

Anthem Blue-Cross Blue Shield said if the doctors want to stay in their network, they still have to see their members who do not want to pay a concierge fee.

Doctors who require a fee must terminate with the company.

MDVIP said the Lakeview practice will not charge the annual fee for children.

Medical professionals told Marchetta, many doctors who have tried a concierge practice in this tough economy have ended up back with their original insurance providers, because too few patients signed on.

For more information on MDVIP,

http://www.mdvip.com/NewCorpWebSite/index.aspx