Dr. Anna Chacona stands out since so few physicians can claim to practice across the country.
According to the Federation of State Medical Boards, as of 2023, there were little over a million licensed physicians in the United States, and less than 8% of those physicians were licensed to practice in three or more states.
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In addition to Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Chacon holds licenses to practice dermatology in all 50 states. She operates her own private clinic in Coral Gables, Miami, and occasionally travels across the nation to visit patients in person as well as remotely.
Chacon’s father, who is also a doctor, lost his job at a Miami hospital back in 2020. In order to protect herself and her finances from a similar situation, Chacon opened her own practice after being shocked by that layoff. “Really loved it,” she adds, adding that she had begun scheduling telehealth appointments during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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In order to continue working remotely, she began looking into her choices.
“Okay, then, where can I work?” I said. How can I go about doing this more extensively? I also made the decision to apply for every license,” she explains.
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Obtaining credentials in many states is a challenging task because each state has its own unique physician licensing procedure. According to her, the cost of obtaining the licenses themselves can often reach hundreds of dollars. Furthermore, notarizations, background checks, and other expensive administrative procedures were frequently necessary for the application processes.
“People did think I was crazy at the time, including my dad,” Chacon recalls. “To apply, you must complete a lot of paperwork. There are numerous costs, tests, and in-person visits occasionally required. She claims that in order to obtain a license in Puerto Rico, she had to visit there.
Chacon estimates that the total cost of obtaining all of her licenses, including travel expenses and other costs, was at least $180,000. She claims that she paid for it entirely out of her own income at the time.
“It is really expensive and I have no regrets doing it,” she claims. “It’s great, it’s wonderful, but it’s also the cost of doing business is what I was told.”
So far, the investment has been profitable for her. In 2024, she made approximately $870,000 from telehealth contracts across the country in addition to her pay from her Coral Gables primary office. She rented out two properties to supplement her income.
“I did it because I wanted that ability to work from anywhere,” she explains. “I also enjoy meeting patients from all over the world, including locations like Raton, New Mexico, that I’ve never heard of. I occasionally research these locations and find myself fascinated by the diseases I come across.
Chacon has a sizable clientele thanks to her national license, which also enables her to see patients who might otherwise struggle to get medical care. She claims to see anyone in need when she visits rural areas of the nation.
“I do a lot of work with indigenous tribes, both in Alaska and in California, and a lot of them are very poor,” she continues.
Though she is more interested in helping those in need of her medical services, she could potentially earn more money by concentrating on pricey operations like cosmetics and other elective surgery.
“I’ve discovered that when you see an area of need and something you really like [that’s] when things really flourish and you discover a path towards success,” she continues.
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