Last updated: May 2026
Medical Disclaimer: This article is informational. Pricing changes often. Verify directly with each practice before joining.
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Direct Primary Care is not concierge medicine. Both bypass the insurance treadmill, but DPC charges a flat monthly fee — usually $50 to $150 — and that fee covers all primary care visits, basic labs, and direct phone or text access to your doctor. No copays. No claims. No surprise bills. Patients still carry catastrophic insurance for hospital stays and specialists, but the day-to-day primary care relationship runs on cash.
The model now spans 3,067 practices across all 50 states plus DC (DPC Frontier, 2026), according to the DPC Frontier mapper. Hint Health, the platform that runs billing for most of these clinics, reports 1.4 million members nationwide (Hint Health, 2026) in its 2026 Trends Report. The list below covers ten practices and platforms worth knowing — verified pricing, current operating status, and a single-line verdict for each.
Quick Comparison Table
| Rank | Practice | Cities | Monthly Fee | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlas MD | Wichita KS | $10-$75 | Best DPC pioneer with the cleanest pricing ladder |
| 2 | Plum Health DPC | Detroit MI | $85 adult | Best urban DPC for working families |
| 3 | Nextera Healthcare | Denver CO + 30 sites | $99 adult | Best multi-clinic Colorado footprint |
| 4 | Strada Healthcare | Omaha NE + 6 states | $99 adult | Best employer-friendly DPC group |
| 5 | Lantern Health | Asheville NC | $110 adult | Best two-clinic Asheville option |
| 6 | Ashewell Medical Group | Asheville NC | $149 adult | Best Asheville DPC with premium feel |
| 7 | Iora Primary Care (now Amazon-owned) | 9 markets | Medicare-billed | Best legacy Iora option for Medicare |
| 8 | Apollo Physicians | Sacramento CA | Cash visits from $65 | Best cash-pay Sacramento alt to DPC |
| 9 | One Health DPC | Asheville NC | $80-$120 | Best sliding-scale Asheville pick |
| 10 | Hint Health platform | Nationwide directory | N/A (platform) | Best way to find any DPC clinic near you |
1. Atlas MD — Wichita, KS
Atlas MD is the practice that put DPC on the map. Founded in 2010 by Dr. Josh Umbehr, the Wichita clinic became the prototype that thousands of other DPC docs studied, copied, and refined. The pricing ladder is famously simple. Adults 0-19 pay $10/month with a parent membership. Adults 20-44 pay $50/month. Adults 45-64 pay $75/month. There are no copays, no enrollment fees, and no claims filed.
Members get unlimited office visits, direct cell phone access to their doctor, wholesale-priced medications dispensed in-house, and basic in-office procedures. Atlas also runs Atlas.md EMR (Atlas, 2026), the software platform many other DPC clinics now use to bill members. The DPC Frontier mapper lists Atlas (DPC Frontier, 2026) as a foundational practice. Patients are encouraged to pair the membership with a high-deductible insurance plan or a healthshare for hospital coverage. Verdict: best DPC pioneer with the cleanest pricing ladder.
2. Plum Health DPC — Detroit, MI
Plum Health opened in 2016 with one mission. Bring affordable primary care to working-class Detroit. Founder Dr. Paul Thomas now leads a small team serving patients across Wayne County for a flat $85/month adult fee (Plum, 2026). Kids run lower with a parent membership. There are no copays and no insurance billing.
The membership covers unlimited office visits, telehealth, same or next-day appointments, basic labs, and wholesale-priced medications. Plum has become a case study for urban DPC — written up by Detroit local press and profiled by the DPC Frontier mapper (DPC Frontier, 2026). Patients can use HSA funds to pay the monthly fee starting January 2026, thanks to the H.R. 1 tax reform bill. The clinic accepts cash, card, and HSA — but does not bill any commercial insurance. Verdict: best urban DPC for working families.
3. Nextera Healthcare — Denver, CO + 30 sites
Nextera started in Longmont and now operates more than 30 clinic locations across Colorado, including a new Central Park/Denver site at 4045 N Pecos St. Pricing is age-banded. Adults 18-64 pay $99/month. Seniors 65+ pay $115/month. Children pay $49/month. An enrollment fee of $79 per person caps at $237 per family (Nextera, 2026).
Members get unlimited access by phone, text, email, video, and in-person — with no copays. The clinic offers 24/7 doctor access and same-day appointments. Nextera also sells employer plans, and their 2026 press release notes (Nextera press, 2026) that the H.R. 1 bill makes their model HSA-compatible starting in January. The practice is listed on the DPC Frontier mapper (DPC Frontier, 2026). Verdict: best multi-clinic Colorado footprint.
4. Strada Healthcare — Omaha, NE + 6 states
Strada launched in Omaha in 2016, the year Nebraska legalized DPC. Today it runs clinics across Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Arizona, Texas, and Washington DC. Adult membership runs $99/month (Strada, 2026) and covers unlimited office, phone, text, email, and virtual visits.
Covered services include annual physicals, follow-ups, annual lab work, acute visits, chronic disease management, simple laceration repair, women's health, and basic mental health. The Omaha World-Herald profiled the model in 2017 as patients "skip insurance claims and copays, pay doctor directly." Strada also sells an employer benefit plan, and the company recently acquired WorkFit in 2024 to expand into occupational health. HSA-compatible as of January 2026. Verdict: best employer-friendly DPC group.
5. Lantern Health — Asheville, NC
Lantern Health runs two clinics in the Asheville area, one downtown and one south. The flat fee is $110/month per adult (Lantern, 2026), with family discounts available. The practice is listed twice on the DPC Frontier mapper — once for Asheville Downtown (DPC Frontier, 2026) and once for Asheville South (DPC Frontier, 2026).
Members get unlimited visits, direct doctor access, same-day appointments, and wholesale labs. The Lantern team emphasizes a slower visit pace — 30 to 60 minutes per appointment instead of the 7-minute insurance-driven rush. Like most DPC practices, Lantern doesn't bill insurance. Patients pair the membership with a catastrophic plan or healthshare for hospital coverage. The clinic is HSA-compatible starting January 2026. Verdict: best two-clinic Asheville option.
6. Ashewell Medical Group — Asheville, NC
Ashewell sits at the upper end of the Asheville DPC market. The flat fee is $149/month (Ashewell, 2026) and includes the full DPC menu — unlimited visits, direct phone access, in-house labs, and same-day appointments. The clinic is at 41 Oakland Road in central Asheville and is profiled on the DPC Frontier mapper (DPC Frontier, 2026).
Ashewell pitches itself as "exceptional primary care with no insurance needed." The price premium over Lantern reflects a smaller panel size and longer average visit. The practice partners with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce on employer-sponsored plans. No insurance is billed. Patients can use HSA funds for the monthly fee under the 2026 tax rule change. The clinic accepts cash and card. Verdict: best Asheville DPC with premium feel.
7. Iora Primary Care (now rebranded under Amazon) — 9 markets
Iora was a senior-focused DPC pioneer until it was acquired in September 2021 (Healthcare Dive, 2023), and the parent was bought by Amazon in February 2023. The 46 legacy Iora clinics were rebranded in May 2023 and now serve Medicare patients in 9 US markets.
Unlike pure DPC, the rebranded clinics bill Medicare Advantage plans directly — so patients pay nothing extra per month if they're on the right plan. Some DPC purists argue this is "DPC in name only" (DPC News, 2023) since the practice still depends on insurance reimbursement. Still, Iora's old DPC Frontier listing remains live (DPC Frontier, 2026) as a marker of where the model came from. Verdict: best legacy Iora option for seniors on Medicare.
8. Apollo Physicians — Sacramento, CA
Apollo Physicians in Sacramento is not a strict DPC clinic. It runs a cash-pay primary care model (Apollo, 2026) with same-day visits starting at $65. There is no monthly membership fee. Patients pay per visit, and the practice still bills some insurance plans on request.
For Sacramento residents who can't find a true DPC nearby and don't want a monthly subscription, Apollo is the closest cash-friendly alternative. Visit times are longer than typical insurance practices and prescriptions can be filled at retail pharmacies or via cash discount programs. The model is HSA-compatible for the visit fees but obviously not for a recurring membership since there isn't one. Patients should still carry catastrophic insurance for ER and specialist coverage. Verdict: best cash-pay Sacramento alt to DPC.
9. One Health DPC — Asheville, NC
One Health DPC rounds out the Asheville trio. Their pricing sits between $80 and $120/month (One Health, 2026) depending on age and family configuration. The flat fee covers sick visits, chronic disease visits, and wellness exams — the standard DPC bundle.
One Health pitches itself as a sliding-scale option for patients who find Lantern or Ashewell too expensive. The clinic is part of the broader DPC Frontier-listed Asheville cluster (DPC Frontier, 2026), which now includes Integrative Family Medicine, Thrive Direct Care, Lantern, Ashewell, and several solo physicians. Asheville has become one of the densest DPC markets per capita in the Southeast. HSA-compatible starting January 2026. No insurance billed. Verdict: best sliding-scale Asheville pick.
10. Hint Health Platform — Nationwide Directory
Hint Health is not a clinic. It's the billing and membership platform that powers most of the DPC practices in this list. The company launched Hint Marketplace in April 2026 — an app-store-style hub where DPC clinics can find software, services, and integration partners.
For patients, Hint matters because its 2026 DPC Trends Report names every clinic running on the platform — making it the closest thing to a unified DPC directory. The platform handles 1.4M+ members across the country. If you can't find a DPC near you on the DPC Frontier mapper, check Hint's clinic finder next. Together they cover roughly 95% of operating DPC practices in the US, per the Hint 2026 trends report. Verdict: best way to find any DPC clinic near you.
How We Ranked
Our concierge-medicine rankings draw on three independent sources, never one alone:
- Verified clinical credentials: ABMS board certifications, state medical-license status, NPI registry, hospital affiliations, AAPP / MDVIP / SignatureMD network membership. Pulled from the relevant primary registry each time we update a profile.
- Patient-reported outcomes: Vitals, Healthgrades, and Google reviews from the past 24 months. We weight verified-visit reviews more than anonymous ones and flag any practice with a pattern of access complaints, billing surprises, or refusal-to-treat reports.
- First-hand intake testing: editorial calls to each practice asking the same five questions (annual retainer, what's included, how same-day visits actually work, telemedicine policy, what happens if I cancel). We document responses.
What we never accept: paid placement, sponsored "best of" slots, retainer-fee discounts in exchange for coverage. Disclosure: some practices listed have affiliate referral programs; we use those links only on the practice page, never as a ranking factor.
Update cadence: at minimum quarterly per niche; faster on any pricing change, network defection, or licensing issue. Last-updated date is at the top. To report an inaccuracy or claim a profile, email research@conciergemdfinder.com — corrections processed within 72 business hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What's the real difference between DPC and concierge medicine? A: DPC charges a flat monthly fee — usually $50 to $150 — that covers all primary care services and does not bill insurance. Concierge medicine usually charges a higher annual fee on top of insurance billing, often $1,500 to $5,000/year, and the doctor still bills your plan for visits and procedures.
Q: Can I use my HSA to pay DPC membership fees? A: Yes, starting January 1, 2026. The H.R. 1 tax reform bill made DPC fees HSA-eligible. Before 2026, HSA rules technically prohibited paying DPC subscriptions because they were treated as health insurance premiums.
Q: Do I still need health insurance if I join a DPC practice? A: Yes. DPC covers primary care only. You still need catastrophic insurance or a healthshare for hospital stays, surgery, specialist visits, and ER care. Most DPC patients pair their membership with a high-deductible insurance plan.
Q: How many DPC practices exist in the US right now? A: The DPC Frontier mapper lists 3,067 practices across all 50 states plus DC as of 2026. Hint Health's platform reports 1.4 million members nationwide, which is roughly 5x the membership count from 2020.
Q: What happened to Forward Health, the AI primary care startup? A: Forward shut down in November 2024 after raising $657 million and reaching a $1 billion valuation. Founder Adrian Aoun cited operational complexity. All clinics closed and all 200 employees were laid off. Forward was tech-enabled primary care but never qualified as true DPC.
Related Reading: Compare these DPC clinics to the broader concierge landscape in our Top 10 Concierge Medicine Companies Compared, or read the cost breakdown in DPC vs Concierge Medicine: Real Cost Comparison. For state-by-state legal status, see Direct Primary Care Legal Status by State.
-- The Concierge MD Finder Team