What is direct primary care (DPC)?

Direct primary care is a practice model where you pay your doctor a flat monthly membership fee — commonly about $50 to $150 — and in return get unlimited primary-care visits, longer appointments, direct messaging, and usually discounted labs and medications. No insurance is billed for primary care.

What is the difference between DPC and concierge medicine?

Both are membership models. DPC charges a modest monthly fee and replaces insurance billing for primary care. Concierge medicine typically costs several thousand dollars per year, is layered on top of insurance, and offers premium access such as small patient panels and 24/7 physician availability.

Can I pay for a DPC membership with my HSA?

Beginning January 1, 2026, Treasury and IRS guidance under the One Big Beautiful Bill allows an otherwise HSA-eligible individual enrolled in a qualifying DPC service arrangement to contribute to an HSA and to pay the arrangement's periodic fees with HSA funds tax-free. The arrangement must meet conditions in the IRS guidance, including limits on the periodic fee (for example, about $150 per month for individual coverage).

Direct Primary Care vs. Concierge Medicine: What Membership-Based Care Costs

How flat-fee membership medicine works, what it typically costs, who it fits — and the new HSA rule that starts in 2026.

The bill that made people look for something different

If you have ever left a doctor’s office with a five-minute visit and a bill that arrived weeks later with numbers you never agreed to, you already understand the problem membership-based care is trying to solve.

A growing number of primary-care doctors have stopped billing insurance entirely — or layered a membership on top of it. You pay a predictable fee, and the practice focuses on you rather than on paperwork. The two big flavors are direct primary care (DPC) and concierge medicine, and while they sound similar, they are built for different budgets.

The short answer

Direct primary care charges a flat monthly fee — commonly about $50–$150 — for primary care with no insurance involved. Concierge medicine is a premium membership, often $3,000–$6,000+ per year, that sits on top of your existing insurance.

How the two models compare

Both trade per-visit billing for a relationship with a doctor who has time. Where they differ most is price and what happens to your insurance.

Compare	Direct primary care (DPC)	Concierge medicine
Typical cost	Commonly about $50–$150 per month	Often $3,000–$6,000+ per year
Insurance involvement	None — insurance is never billed for primary care	Usually kept; the membership sits on top of insurance
What's typically included	Unlimited primary-care visits, longer appointments, direct messaging, discounted labs and medications	Enhanced access, longer visits, preventive planning, direct physician access
Best suited for	People paying out of pocket or with high deductibles who mainly need primary care	People who want maximum physician access and are comfortable with premium pricing

Who membership care fits — and who it doesn’t

Membership care tends to fit people who pay out of pocket, carry a high deductible they rarely hit, or manage chronic conditions that need frequent primary-care attention. Families who mostly need a trusted doctor — visits, prescriptions, labs, telehealth check-ins — often find a DPC membership costs less per year than a couple of urgent-care visits.

What it is not: a replacement for insurance. Emergencies, surgery, hospital stays and specialist care are outside a membership. Most people who join a DPC practice keep some coverage — a high-deductible plan, a short-term plan, or a health-share program — for the big things.

Membership care is not insurance

A DPC or concierge membership covers primary care with that practice only. If you can keep any form of coverage for emergencies and specialist care, do. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.

The 2026 change that makes DPC fees HSA-friendly

For years, paying a DPC membership could put your HSA eligibility at risk — the fee looked like disqualifying insurance to the IRS. That changes for 2026.

Under Treasury and IRS guidance implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill, beginning January 1, 2026, an otherwise HSA-eligible individual enrolled in a qualifying DPC service arrangement may contribute to an HSA and pay the arrangement’s periodic fees from HSA funds tax-free. Qualifying arrangements must meet conditions in the IRS guidance — notably limits on the periodic fee, around $150 per month for individual coverage — and focus on primary-care services rather than duplicating insurance. If you are considering both an HSA and a DPC membership, it is worth confirming the practice’s arrangement fits the current IRS rules.

How CareCompass helps you find one

Every ClearCare Triage results page now shows a verified membership-based practice that serves your county — flat-fee primary care as one more option next to facility price, quality and wait-time comparisons. Where no practice exists yet, we tell you that honestly and point to the nearest areas that have one.

See the membership practice near you

mycarecompass.io

The goal is not to sell you a membership. It is to show every flat-fee option next to every traditional one — so the choice is yours.

Sources & notes

1. Internal Revenue Service. "Treasury, IRS provide guidance on new tax benefits for health savings account participants under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill."
Official Treasury and IRS announcement of the HSA provisions, including that beginning Jan. 1, 2026, otherwise eligible individuals in certain direct primary care (DPC) service arrangements may contribute to an HSA and pay periodic DPC fees with HSA funds tax-free.
2. Ameriflex. "New IRS Rules for HSA-Compatible Direct Primary Care."
Plain-language summary of IRS Notice 2026-05, including the periodic-fee limits (for example, about $150 per month for individual coverage) a DPC arrangement must meet to be HSA-compatible.
3. DPC Frontier. "Tax Treatment of Direct Primary Care."
Background on how DPC membership fees have historically been treated for tax purposes, and how the new IRS guidance changes that from 2026.
4. CareCompass.
Shows a verified membership-based practice near your ZIP on every results page, alongside facility price, quality and delay comparisons. Practice details should be confirmed with the practice.

Important

This article is for educational and care-planning purposes only. It is not medical, tax or financial advice, and does not create a clinician–patient relationship. Membership prices are typical ranges that change often — confirm current pricing, inclusions and HSA compatibility with the practice and a tax professional.