GoldCare™ Health & Wellness is a private membership association that promises to provide “integrity-driven, unbiased medical care” that includes “on-demand telemedicine, access to 24-hour member services, live educational wellness seminars, and a community dedicated to ensuring freedom of choice.” [1] The company was registered in Florida as a limited liability corporation (LLC) in February 2022. I do not believe its offerings are worthwhile.
Background History
GoldCare Health & Wellness is the brainchild of Simone Gold, M.D., J.D., who also founded America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS). Gold and her group have achieved notoriety as promoters of COVID-19 misinformation. Throughout its existence, AFLDS has protested lockdown restrictions, disparaged the wearing of masks to prevent COVID-19, improperly claimed that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin are safe and effective against COVID-19, and incited unwarranted fears about the government-recommended COVID-19 vaccines [2]. In public appearances, Gold tells people not to trust the facts or advice issued by public health agencies, mainstream medical groups, drug companies, or mainstream news media. In December 2021, The Intercept reported that AFLDS was using a telemedicine platform called GoldCare Telemed to enable people to obtain hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin [3].
On January 6, 2021, Gold joined the mob that stormed the United States Capitol Building in an attempt to disrupt the 2020 election certification process. She took no part on the violence, but she
was arrested for trespassing and eventually pleaded guilty to knowingly and unlawfully “entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds,” which is a Class A misdemeanor. Shortly after her arrest, 
Gold relocated from California to Naples, Florida. On June 16, 2022, she was sentenced to 60 days in jail, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine plus $500 for restitution [4]. In a subsequent speech, she said that she opened up GoldGare the same day because she thought “it would be very fun to have that as a positive anniversary.” [5] In an email to her supporters, Gold identified herself as chief executive officer of the company and said it would start taking appointments in Florida and California on July 15. She began serving her 60-day sentence on July 26.
GoldCare’s Offerings
GoldCare’s website describes its program this way:
At GoldCare Health & Wellness, our main priority is to serve each patient’s best interest and promote medical freedom. Our philosophy is to first build trust and mutual respect between patients and GoldCare providers. Because we don’t allow government or insurance to control healthcare decisions, the patient-physician relationship can flourish. The influences that guide our recommendations are based only on best medical practices tailored to your specific health needs. Our doctors will spend time getting to know you, including your medical history and your wellness goals. We will then discuss treatment options and provide the information you’ll need to make fully informed decisions.
For the first 1,000 enrollees, annual memberships are available for $1,000 for individual plans and $2,000 for family plans. Lifetime memberships cost $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for families. The plans include:
- A Free “Meet & Greet” provider appointment
- Scheduling priority if demand ever exceeds supply
- A ‘Founding Member’ title
- A robust member services support team
- On-Demand TelemedicineAccess to primary and acute telemedicine care by providers who are “unshackled by the external pressures of traditional medicine top bring you unbiased tyruthful healthcare recommendations.”
- Access to Wellness Consult Services
- Exclusive Members-Only Resources that include “an ever-growing online library of accurate health information, as well as opportunities to attend group education courses presented by freedom-minded providers, including functional medicine, naturopath, nutrition, chiropractic, and many others.”
- One free GoldCare token
Membership does not include fees for provider time, which are payable with GoldCare tokens purchased within the patient portal. The tokens cost $100 each. Additional third-party medical services—including prescriptions, labs, or imaging—are offered at additional cost that may be “pre-negotiated for the lowest-price cash option for you.” Hospital care, of course is not covered.
The GoldCare website states:
Our GoldCare providers come from various clinical backgrounds, including family medicine, emergency room physicians, functional and integrative physicians, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, naturopaths, as well as dietitians, and other experts. All will be available to provide the most comprehensive care for you.
The cost for each 15-minute telemedicine segment is one token for physician visits, 4/5 token for physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner visits, and 3/5 of a token for a dietitian, social worker, or nurse visit. In-person visits are not currently offered but will become available if a GoldCare Center opens near where a member lives.
The website names no providers and does not indicate how additional ones will recruited,. However, it is safe to assume that its initial medical staff will be the physician-members of AFLDS, whose most notable characteristic is opposition to the scientific community’s views on COVID-19 prevention and treatment. I believe that relying on any such doctor would be very foolish. The mention of functional and integrative physicians and naturopaths should also be of concern. “Functional” and “integrative” are not recognized fields of practice. They are marketing terms used to promote practitioners who use questionable methods in addition to or instead of proven ones [6]. And naturopathy is a pseudoscience whose practitioners are unlikely to make adequate diagnoses and provide appropriate treatment [7].
One of the educational classes listed on the GoldCare website promises to teach how to “eliminate toxins.” [8] In my experience, users of such words are prone to diagnose nonexistent problems and sell worthless methods to combat them [9].
The Bottom Line
Simone Gold and her followers would like you to believe that the scientific medical community is corrupt and that GoldCare’s providers have better judgment. I believe that GoldCare would be a poor investment.
References
- Why become a member of the PMA? Goldcare Health & Wellness home page, accessed Jult 18, 2022.
- Barrett S. A skeptical look at Simone Gold and America’s Frontline Doctors. Quackwatch, July 17, 2022.
- Lee M. Americas Frontline Doctors plans to open clinics as California’s medical board investigates founder: The “disinformation doctors” are expanding, even as Congress and state medical boards scrutinize the operation and the group’s founder, Simone Gold. The Intercept, Dec 20, 2021.
- Gold, Simone Melissa (case summary). USDOJ website, June 16, 2022.
- Moving forward (minutes 23:12 to 23:18). Posted to YouTube by Awaken Church, July 7, 2022.
- Barrett S. Be wary of “alternative,” “complementary,” and “integrative” health methods. Quackwatch, April 17, 2022.
- Barrett S. A close look at naturopathy. Quackwatch, Nov 13, 2013.
- GoldCare classes: Forgotten basics of health. GoldCare website, accessed July 19, 2022.
- Barrett S. “Detoxification” schemes and scams. Quackwatch, June 8, 2011.
