John Mackey, well-known as the founder of Whole Foods, has launched a new health care company called Love.Life.
In July 2023, Mackey sent out a promotional letter describing the initiative as “an integrated health and wellness company that makes lasting health and longevity attainable.”
The company promises an “integrated care team,” of doctor, nutritionist, and health coach; an investigative “root cause” approach; customizable labs; and advanced genetic testing to tailor nutrition.
‘Cash-Only’ Direct-Pay System
The company’s website lists ten available doctors in practice with combined licensure across all 50 states.
Love.Life is a “cash-pay only” service. A single, 60-minute new-patient visit costs $350, with the same cost for a 60-minute follow up.
Patients can sign up for a membership under the company’s Healthy Lifestyle Program at $175 per month plus lab tests, or the Longevity Plan designed for individuals with existing health problems, at $499 per month. The most comprehensive plan, the Concierge Program, promises to look at “every facet of health.” That cost is not listed.
Love.Life will file insurance claims but doesn’t guarantee reimbursement, its website states.
A monthly Love.Life Telehealth newsletter including physician commentary, webinar schedules, testimonials, recipes, and other news is available for free subscription via email.
Testimonials on the site emphasize compassionate, individualized care by highly competent physicians, with cutting-edge testing within a holistic, approach to health care that includes a plant-based diet.
Entrepreneurship, Innovation
Well-known entrepreneurs continue to move into the health market space as overbooked practitioners, care shortages, high insurance costs, and general dissatisfaction with the primary care system increasingly plague the industry. Attempts by Amazon and Mark Cuban’s RX company are just two recent examples.
None has followed the “health mecca” vision Mackey is rolling out. Although virtual health initiatives are half of the strategy, the other half focuses on physical locations with health food restaurants, medical centers, gyms, and other restorative and wellness treatments such as acupuncture, infrared saunas, and physical therapy, Mackey said in an interview on Fast Company in July.
Cure for Chronic Spending
Mackey’s vision for better wellness began as a flagship effort around 15 years ago, in response to excessive spending on chronic illness among Whole Foods employees.
“About 80 percent of health care spending is on 20 percent of the population,” said Devon Herrick, a health economist and policy advisor to The Heartland Institute, which co-publishes Health Care News. “John Mackey found at Whole Foods it was more like 90/10, where 10 percent of employees with chronic diseases accounted for 90 percent of Whole Foods’ health care spending.”
In response to this imbalance, Mackey’s former company sent 4,000 employees through Total Health Immersion, a program that harnessed lifestyle practices to manage chronic disease.
“Mackey was amazed at the results and wants to bring a similar program to people interested in leading healthier lives,” Herrick said. “It will be interesting to watch how the company grows.”
Employee Resistance
Although Whole Foods’ Total Health Immersion program was deemed largely successful, lifestyle makeovers have not proven very effective in many corporations, says Herrick.
“One problem with corporate chronic disease management programs is the unhealthy employees are the least likely to participate, while the healthy workers are already doing what they’re supposed to,” said Herrick.
‘Direct’ Approach on Rise
Like the Mackey approach, direct primary care (DPC) has been tailoring health care to individuals for years and remains one of very few free-market ideas in practice in the industry today, having experienced rapid growth. DPC is also “cash pay only,” and its hallmark is affordability, usually costing about $100 a month.
“Expansion of DPC practices is happening continuously,” said Lee Gross, M.D., president of the Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation. “On the linear level, we’re seeing steady growth. In 2010, maybe there were a dozen of us. Now there are thousands, with clinics launching every single day, in many states with legislative protection.”
DPC expansion is being led by consumer demand, not corporations’ interests, says Gross.
“It’s getting harder and harder for people who want traditional, personalized care [to find it],” said Gross. “The growth is there, and the interest is there—that’s why DPCs are thriving.”
Whereas a traditional third-party payer practice needs 2,000 patients just to keep the lights on, DPCs need only about 300 to turn a profit, says Gross.
Care Combination
Love.Life also offers telehealth visits with top doctors. It’s important for DPC providers to offer in-person visits as well, as Love.Life does, says Gross.
“Telemedicine is part of the practice of direct primary care, but it’s not the sole practice,” said Gross. “Direct primary care physicians could do house calls, parking lot visits, telehealth, or in-office during the pandemic. It’s the combination of all those things that is the perfect balance: convenience and technology, with the old-fashioned touch of physical touch.
“The continuity is also critical,” said Gross. “For management of chronic disease and knowing the patient’s complex social situation, it’s so important to develop a relationship with patients.”
Despite its higher cost than conventional DPC, Mackey’s venture is a welcome addition to a dysfunctional market, says Gross.
“I love that there’s so much innovation offered in the space,” said Gross. “I’m glad they’re developing a program. Their prices are above the price point most people can afford, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have value and shouldn’t exist. That’s the beauty of the free market.”
Ashley Bateman (bateman.ae@googlemail.com) writes from Virginia.