Insurance co-pays tend to be high. Even a routine PCP visit on a high-deductible plan often costs $150 — and you pay everything until you’ve met the deductible.
A single urgent care visit can cost more than your monthly DPC membership (or even more than your annual membership when you factor in lost wages), and you’ll likely wait hours to be seen. At least 50% of urgent care visits should have been handled by Primary Care instead — but most PCPs aren’t available for weeks or months.
With DPC, you’re seen same-day or next-day, and many issues can be resolved with a few text messages or a call. For half the price of a typical $2,000 deductible, a prepaid annual Standard DPC membership ($1,000) already includes unlimited visits, prescription refills, some labs, and many other services.
You can absolutely use insurance for extra labs, medications, imaging, specialty visits, and hospitalizations. But the low monthly membership fee for personalized care and extended provider access can’t be billed through insurance.
