Understanding
Direct Primary Care
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a groundbreaking healthcare approach that aims to rejuvenate the connection between patients and providers. It operates on a fundamental principle that healthcare should be personalized, accessible, and affordable. Bypassing conventional insurance-based billing methods allows DPC practices to provide comprehensive care through a flat monthly membership fee. This page is designed to help you understand the concept of Direct Primary Care while highlighting its distinctions from both traditional healthcare models and concierge medicine and evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of opting for DPC to meet your healthcare needs.
Direct Primary Care is a model in which patients pay their healthcare providers directly through a monthly membership fee that covers most primary care services including consultations, care management, and in-office procedures. This model emphasizes preventive care, longer visits, and more personal attention from your doctor, fostering a stronger doctor-patient relationship.
We firmly believe that direct primary care provides superior healthcare. Patients enjoy direct access to physicians, lower healthcare expenses, and an enhanced overall experience during medical visits. DPC fosters a direct and genuine relationship between the patient and provider, as it should be.
What is Direct Primary Care?
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One of the best benefits of the direct primary care model is reestablishing the relationship between patients and their health care provider. By getting to know your doctor when you're healthy, you become a team working proactively to keep you healthy, happy, free of preventable diseases, and living a good lifestyle. Dr. Cozart can help you try to avoid health problems you may be predisposed to based on family history. You have time to focus on preventative screening and enact healthy lifestyle changes to keep you healthy. If you get sick or develop a chronic condition requiring more care, you already have a partnership with a doctor you trust to help manage your health problems. A great primary care doctor can take care of you throughout the course of your life.
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Your Direct Primary Care membership allows you to have an optimal primary care experience. DPC doctors keep their patient numbers smaller than traditional primary care practices. This means it is easier to get an appointment and Dr. Cozart has more time to focus on your needs.
Your membership fee covers a wealth of primary care services at our office, and you never pay a co-pay. It covers all your office visits: annual health checks, chronic illness management, acute illnesses, and urgent care. It also allows you to communicate directly with Dr. Cozart when you need him and even schedule virtual visits when applicable.
Dr. Cozart is an internal medicine physician trained to take care of about 90% of your healthcare needs. He can perform many procedures in-office instead of referring you to a specialist. When he was in an insurance-based office he had to send patients to specialists much more frequently simply because he didn’t have the time to take care of them. (This is one of the many reasons he joined DPC and one of the reasons he thinks you should as well.)
In DPC, we can also be more flexible. Sometimes, you may just have a small concern or question that doesn’t really require an office visit. In these instances, you can reach your doctor by phone, text or email!
If you have a doctor who you love, keep them. If you are tired of long waits to see your doctor, pre-authorizations, co-pays, and surprise medical bills when insurance denies your claim, you’ve come to the right place. Say good-bye to barriers, inefficiencies, impersonal care, crowded waiting rooms, and rushed visits. Experience access to your doctor, enhanced efficiency, seamless communication, and complete price transparency. Restore sanity to healthcare!
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While some people do use the terms interchangeably and while direct primary care and concierge medicine do share some similarities, they are not exactly the same. Both models prioritize direct patient-physician relationships and typically require a membership fee outside of traditional insurance. However, concierge medicine will often still bill insurance for individual services and may charge an additional retainer fee for enhanced access and services, potentially making it more costly than direct primary care. In general, direct primary care focuses on simplifying healthcare through affordable accessibility while most concierge practices tend to lean more towards providing quality care through exclusive, personalized services.
Why are there membership fees?
The short answer is that the membership fee establishes a direct financial relationship between patients and providers removing the barriers, third party interference, and bureaucracy that complicate traditional medical care. This leads to more transparent pricing, enhanced access to services, and a focus on preventive care.
Billing in a traditional health care practice…
Billing in a traditional health care practice involves insurance companies acting as middlemen between the healthcare provider and the patient. Patients are required to pay a copay per visit and a deductible with the hope that their insurance company will cover the remaining portion of the bill.
On the provider's end, there are numerous rules and regulations that dictate the pricing of services and the amount that insurance companies are willing to reimburse. This system results in a significant amount of time and resources being allocated to tasks that do not directly contribute to patient care, leading to increased costs and reduced availability for patient appointments.
By removing the burdens of insurance, Dr. Cozart is free to focus on patient care and offer services such as extended appointment times, communication through email, phone, or text, and the ability to diagnose and treat without the need for an office visit. He can also spend adequate time with patients especially those who have complicated health histories. He can have real, unrushed conversations and help patients try to determine the root causes of their health issues.
The fee is also predictable for the patient and is often far less than annual medical costs of copays and deductibles.
Direct Primary Care offers a different approach.
Pros of DPC
Accessible Care: Direct access to doctor; Easier scheduling with same or next-day appointments and reduced wait times
Personalized Care: Longer, unrushed appointments allow for in-depth consultations and customized treatment plans; the doctor is able to dig deeper into underlying health issues.
Preventive Focus: Proactive approach to catching potential problems early on.
Streamlined Care: Ability to perform many procedures in-office; Most medications available at incredible discounts in-office; Freedom to discuss more than one issue during the same appointment
Direct Doctor-Patient Relationship: No insurance company interference in treatment decisions.
Not Limited by Insurance Provider: Very well suited for the uninsured or those with high-deductible plans or health share plans, but also suitable for any patient regardless of insurance provider
Can Use HSA funds to pay for membership: Starting January 2026 your DPC fees can now be paid with pre-tax dollars, thereby lowering your taxable income while providing the care you need.
Cost-effective: Flat monthly fee avoids high insurance premiums and surprise bills
Cons of DPC
Monthly Cost: While the membership fee covers most primary care services, it is an additional monthly cost regardless of how often you use the services.
Still Need Insurance for Major Medical: DPC membership does not cover specialty care, surgeries, or hospitalizations.
No Effect on Deductible: DPC fees do not contribute towards insurance deductibles.
Is DPC or concierge right for me?
Because both DPC and concierge medicine specifically tailor their healthcare practices for the communities they serve, each practice will be just a bit different or unique. It’s important to examine the specific services offered by each individual practice.
Common Similarities:
limited number of patients resulting in more time spent with each one, quicker response times, and more availability for appointments
direct access to your physician
builds relationships between patients and physicians
emphasizes preventative care
In general, direct primary care focuses on simplifying healthcare through affordable accessibility while most concierge practices tend to lean more towards providing quality care through exclusive, personalized services.
The answer comes down to what is important to you.
If you have a doctor you love who takes excellent care of you, stay with them. If they have learned to manage the system and take excellent care of their patients, stay with them! Don’t trade one good doctor for another.
If you are someone who prefers the more impersonal approach of being “lost in the crowd” of a large system, a traditional model of care may work better. If you are part of a large system, and it’s working well for you, there is probably no reason to switch.
However, if you have a lot of frustrations with the current healthcare system or if your needs haven’t been met, it might be time to consider alternatives, and it’s important to know that alternatives like DPC are out there.
For less than the cost of a daily coffee, you can have access to great medical care that is easy to access and a doctor that knows you as an individual.
