What is Direct Primary Care?
Direct Primary Care is a membership-based healthcare model where patients pay a flat monthly fee — typically $75 to $200 — directly to their physician for comprehensive primary care. No insurance billing, no copays, no surprise bills.
Why It Works
What is Direct Primary Care (DPC)?
How the DPC Model Works
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a healthcare model where patients pay a monthly membership fee—typically $75 to $200—directly to their physician for comprehensive primary care services. The model is recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians as a viable practice and delivery model.
This simple change eliminates insurance billing, administrative overhead, and the rushed 7-minute appointments that define traditional medicine.
For physicians, DPC means smaller patient panels (400-600 vs 2,000+), freedom from insurance bureaucracy, and the ability to practice medicine the way they envisioned in medical school.
$75-200/month. Predictable monthly fee covers all primary care visits.
Same-day access. See your doctor when you need to, not weeks later.
Direct communication. Text, call, or email your physician directly.
30-60 minute visits. Unhurried appointments that address all your concerns.
Smaller panels. 400-600 patients means your doctor knows you.
No surprise bills. Transparent pricing with no hidden costs.
Better health outcomes. Longer visits and direct access lead to earlier diagnosis and better chronic disease management.
Higher physician satisfaction. DPC physicians report lower burnout, higher career satisfaction, and greater clinical autonomy.
HSA-eligible (with caps). Qualifying DPC arrangements are HSA-eligible for tax years beginning after 12/31/2025, capped at $150/month (individual) and $300/month (family). Patients should confirm with their HSA administrator.
DPC vs Insurance-Based Care
See why patients and physicians are making the switch.
Appointment wait time
Days to weeks
Same day or next day
Visit length
7-15 minutes
30-60 minutes
Doctor access
Phone tree, callbacks
Direct text/phone/email
Patient panel
2,000-2,500 patients
400-600 patients
Surprise bills
Common
Never
Prior authorizations
Required
Handled by your support team (Core & Pro)
For physicians evaluating the model
What your patients will buy.
Before you decide whether to run a DPC practice, it helps to see the product through the patient's eyes — because this is the experience you'll be selling, pricing, and scaling.
Join a DPC practice.
Sign up with a DPC physician, pay your first month's membership, and schedule your initial visit.
Comprehensive initial visit.
Your first appointment lasts 60-90 minutes. Your physician learns your complete health history, goals, and concerns.
Ongoing direct access.
Need your doctor? Text, call, or email. Need an appointment? Usually same-day or next-day. No gatekeepers.
Transparent, simple billing.
One monthly fee covers your care. Labs and imaging at wholesale cost. No surprise bills, ever.
This is DPC
Unhurried exams. Real relationships. Medicine the way it should be.
Dr. Melinda Marzolf, Balance Integrated Health — Colorado
Two audiences, one model
Who this actually works for.
The patient column is your addressable market — the people who'll actually pay a membership. The physician column is the operating reality you're stepping into.
If both sides feel like a fit, DPC usually works. If one side is a stretch, that's where planning matters most.
Your patients
The people who become members.
- Families frustrated with rushed 7-minute visits and impossible scheduling
- Self-employed professionals and gig workers pairing DPC with HDHP coverage
- Patients managing chronic conditions who need real time with their doctor
- HSA-eligible households making the most of the 2026 rules
- Anyone tired of surprise bills and phone-tree gatekeeping
You, the physician
The operating reality.
- You want out of the RVU treadmill and back into medicine
- You're comfortable owning the patient relationship — good and hard days
- You have 6–12 months of runway (or a bridge plan) to reach break-even
- You'd rather run a lean practice than a busy one
- Primary care or specialty — the model scales to both
Interactive Tools
Find your answer in minutes — not months
Practice Benchmark
5 minCompare your practice metrics against 155+ DPC practices nationwide
Is DPC Right for You?
2 minAnswer 10 questions to see if the DPC model fits your career goals
Practice Audit
5 minGet a personalized operations checklist with actionable recommendations
Panel Calculator
3 minModel your annualized revenue impact, break-even point, and growth trajectory