You just found out you’re pregnant. Maybe a friend mentioned her “concierge OB.” Maybe you read that celebrities deliver this way. Then you see that the membership fee isn’t covered by insurance, and you pause.
Is concierge OB care actually worth it in Los Angeles? Or is it a luxury label on the same care you’d get anywhere else?
The honest answer: for some women it’s one of the best decisions they make in pregnancy. For others, it isn’t necessary. This guide is here to help you figure out which one you are, before you spend anything.
What you’re actually paying for
Here’s something most concierge practices won’t say plainly: the membership fee doesn’t buy you different medicine. Prenatal screening, blood work and delivery follow the same national guidelines whether you see a concierge OB or a large group practice.
What the fee buys is access, continuity and time.
In a typical large OB practice in Los Angeles, you may see several different doctors over nine months. Visits are often short. And when you go into labor, the person who delivers your baby is usually whoever happens to be on call that night, not necessarily the doctor you’ve built trust with.
A concierge OB limits the number of patients in their care so they can do things differently:
- The doctor who knows you is the one who delivers you.
- You can reach your doctor directly, not just a front desk or an after-hours line.
- Visits have room for your questions, and your partner is welcome to come too.
- Problems get handled quickly, often the same day.
The membership fee is separate from medical billing and isn’t covered by insurance. If you have coverage, covered medical care is still billed to your plan as usual. (Our Insurance & Payment page explains how this works at Yunella.)
If you want a side-by-side look at how concierge care differs from a hospital OB-GYN department, we cover that in detail in Concierge Maternity Care vs. a Hospital OB-GYN Department: What’s Actually Different? This article focuses on a different question: is it worth it for you?
What concierge care looks like at Yunella
The phrase “concierge OB” can mean very different things depending on the practice. So here is exactly what it means in our Concierge Maternity Experience.
One physician from start to finish. Your care is led by Dr. David Seil Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, FACOG. He has delivered well over 7,000 babies and spent 15 years teaching OB/GYN residents at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Kim attends his own patients’ deliveries in nearly every case. On the rare occasion he can’t, a trusted physician he has already briefed on your pregnancy steps in.
Delivery at Cedars-Sinai. Our office is on San Vicente Boulevard, not inside the hospital, but Dr. Kim delivers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He also has delivery privileges at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.
A direct line to your doctor. Direct access to Dr. Kim starts when you enroll and continues until six weeks after your baby is born. When you call, we aim to get back to you and usually address what you need the same day.
An ultrasound at every visit, done by Dr. Kim himself. In many offices, ultrasounds happen only at set points in pregnancy and are performed by a technician. Here, Dr. Kim scans you at every prenatal visit and explains what he sees in real time. Your membership also includes four bonding ultrasounds, just for seeing your baby.
Specialists right next door. Your NT scan and 20-week anatomy scan are done with our maternal-fetal medicine partner, the Center for Fetal Medicine, about a three-minute walk from our office.
A plan built around you. From your 39-week induction plan to whether a VBAC is right for you, decisions are made with the same doctor every time.
Room for your family. Partners, parents, or whoever you bring are welcome at appointments. We see every patient as a family, and our goal is to take stress off your plate so you can focus on yourself and your baby.
Because Dr. Kim cares for a limited number of pregnancies at a time, space in the program is limited.
When concierge care is most worth it
In our experience, concierge care makes the biggest difference for women in these situations.
This is your first baby, and you have a lot of questions. First pregnancies come with a constant stream of “is this normal?” moments. Having your own doctor to ask, instead of searching online at 2 AM, changes how pregnancy feels.
You’re 35 or older, or you conceived through IVF. These pregnancies often need closer monitoring. Continuity matters more when there’s more to watch. (Read more: Pregnancy After 35: What Actually Changes? and Is an IVF Pregnancy Considered High Risk?)
Your pregnancy has been labeled “high-risk.” You’ll likely see a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, but you still need an OB who coordinates everything and delivers you. We explain how that works in High-Risk Pregnancy: Do You Need a Specialist, or an OB Who Works With One?
You’ve had a hard birth before, or you’re hoping for a VBAC. If a previous delivery left you anxious or you want to try for a vaginal birth after a C-section, the experience of the doctor in the room matters. Dr. Kim is experienced in VBAC and will support it whenever it’s safe for you and your baby.
You had a bad experience with rushed care. If you’ve felt unheard in a past pregnancy, a model built around time and access can be the difference.
Your schedule is unpredictable. Direct access and quick scheduling mean fewer days lost waiting for an appointment or a call back.
When it may not be worth it
Concierge care isn’t the right fit for everyone, and we’d rather you know that up front.
You already love your OB, and they deliver their own patients. If you trust your doctor and they’re reliably there for delivery, you already have the most important part of what concierge care offers.
Keeping out-of-pocket costs as low as possible is your top priority. The membership fee is an added cost on top of anything your insurance covers. If that would strain your budget, a well-run group practice can still give you safe, high-quality care.
You want a midwife-led or birth-center birth. Concierge OB care is physician-led and hospital-based. If your heart is set on a birth center, a midwifery model may suit you better.
You expect it to replace specialists. Concierge care gives you more of your OB, not a substitute for specialty care. If you need a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, a good concierge OB works alongside one rather than instead of one.
8 questions to ask any concierge OB before you sign up
Whether you choose us or another practice, these questions will tell you whether a concierge program is worth what you’re paying.
- Who delivers my baby if you’re not available? “Nearly always me, with a covering doctor I’ve briefed” is a very different answer from “whoever is on call.”
- Which hospital do you deliver at? Your OB can only deliver where they hold delivery privileges.
- Who performs my ultrasounds, and how often? Ask whether it’s the doctor or a technician, and whether it’s every visit or only at set weeks.
- How do I reach you, and how fast will I hear back? Ask what happens on nights and weekends, too.
- What exactly does the membership fee cover, and what gets billed to insurance? Get it in writing.
- How many pregnancies do you care for at once? A smaller panel is what makes the access possible.
- When does my access end? Some programs stop at delivery. Ours continues until six weeks after birth.
- What happens if I develop a complication? Ask which specialists they work with and how care is coordinated.
If the answers are vague, that’s an answer too.
Can I use insurance or my HSA?
Insurance doesn’t pay concierge membership fees, because the fee covers access and service rather than a specific medical procedure. Covered medical care is still billed to your plan as usual. If you’re out of network with us, our Out-of-Network Care page explains how that works.
Whether an HSA or FSA can be used for a membership fee depends on your plan’s rules, which vary. Check with your plan administrator before you assume either way.
Don’t just take our word for it
The best way to judge whether concierge care is worth it is to hear from women who chose it. Watch Tessa’s story and read our patient reviews. We’d rather show you than tell you.
The bottom line
Concierge OB care is worth it when what you value most is knowing your doctor, reaching your doctor, and having your doctor in the room when your baby arrives. If that sounds like you, the best next step is a conversation.
At Yunella, maternity care is provided through our Concierge Maternity Experience, so the best time to reach out is early in your pregnancy. Book a consultation or call us at (424) 404-8832. We’ll walk you through the program, answer every question, and help you decide whether it’s right for you.
Medically reviewed by David Seil Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, FACOG · Last reviewed: October 21, 2026