[electric_mayhem]

Direct primary care was a completely game-changing improvement in healthcare for me.

$95/mo to basically subscribe to a local doctor. Covers most things other than tests or surgery or limb setting. But tests are often very discounted relative to what insurance charges for them (with my previous dpc provider an entire battery of tests cost less through them than just the copay for two of them added up to).

It’s remarkable how different it is when the healthcare provider is focused on you and your health rather than on gaming the metrics by which insurance companies judge them.

Make other plans for catastrophic things (ie, a high deductible insurance plan).

https://www.dpcfrontier.com/

[jabroni_salad]

I do this too and I love it, and it highlights what to me is the healthcare's system biggest constraint. It is amazing how little healthcare can cost when you do not need to staff seven paper pushers for every doctor.

[insane_dreamer]

It's a good option for primary care. It's also a form of insurance, since the reason why it's low is that enough people will subscribe but not use it, just like the gym :)

The issue is that primary care is not generally expensive, and also not generally needed if you're healthy. I've gone to a PCP less than half-dozen times in my 56 years. So the $100/mo is a waste in my case -- I save much more by just paying out of pocket if every I need to go.

But medical expenses for unexpected conditions -- surgeries, specialized tests, visits with specialized doctors, non-routine medications -- those are all what cost a lot. And that's not covered by $100/month.

So DPC is a nice idea, but it doesn't really replace health insurance -- I look at it more as an "extra" for regular health monitoring and preventative care, which is important in itself (and in most cases worth the $100/month).

[Taikonerd]

My big question about DPC is: what about people who just don't think about primary care until they have something wrong? How long is the wait list at that point? Or can they go see a doctor for $X as a one-off, without a subscription?

[jabroni_salad]

I still have a HDHP for intensive visits and if I go to local out of network Urgent Care for the narrow range of things Urgent Care is good for, it's like $50 tops.

[electric_mayhem]

If someone was hung up on only paying when they need care, the business model needs to support that would probably look a lot like an emergency room or urgent care facility.

For me, I consider it an astonishingly good value paying $1200 a year even when probably nine months out of the year I don’t even talk to them. Being a healthy dude I get proactive tests done twice a year to keep tabs on a couple dozen different metrics ($150 each round, all in) and inform any needed course corrections over time (early insight- vitamin d was low (previous insurance-based provider refused to order test). Later insight- eating trash and five drinks a day for 7 days at a vacation resort made basically every metric go to absolute shit; subsequently did an early test after a month of clean diet and regular exercise showed tremendous improvement across the board). And then when something random comes up I know they’re there for me.

If it sounds like the sort of thing, you might be into find a couple local providers and just have a conversation with them. I’ve yet to speak to a DPC provider that isn’t excited about the model and delighted to communicate its value to prospective customers.

It’s as close to concierge healthcare as I’ll ever able to afford and I absolutely adore that it removes the parasitic insurance from my primary care loop.