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I've watched patients exhale the first time they realize medicine can work this way. And when this model isn't the right fit for someone, I'll gently say so — because the goal is for you to land where you'll truly be cared for, here or elsewhere. None of this is a sales pitch; it's just an honest look at fit.
So before you weigh membership tiers or compare costs, sit with these five questions. They're the same ones I'd ask you across the desk.
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Do you have a chronic condition, complex hormones, or a weight-loss goal that needs real attention?
Diabetes, thyroid disease, perimenopause and menopause, PCOS, ongoing fatigue, sustainable weight loss — none of these get solved in a ten-minute slot. They need time, steady follow-up, and a physician who remembers what you tried last month. DPC is built for exactly this: longer visits, direct messaging between them, and the room to actually adjust a plan instead of just renewing it.
→ If yes, this is the model's sweet spot. -
Are you tired of ten-minute appointments where you feel rushed and unheard?
The rushed visit usually isn't your doctor not caring — it's a system that books them every ten to fifteen minutes to stay afloat. DPC removes that volume pressure. Where a traditional practice carries around 2,000 patients, I keep my panel closer to 300 — and that smaller number is the whole point. Because insurance doesn't dictate how I practice medicine, my overhead is far lower, which frees me to care for fewer patients in a more thorough way. Visits run thirty to sixty minutes, start on time, and don't end before your questions do — and between them, I'm available when a question or concern comes up.
→ If yes, you'll feel the difference on the first visit. -
Do you want a doctor who knows your name, your history, and your goals?
When your physician carries a small panel, real continuity becomes possible again. You're not a fresh chart at every visit — when you call, you reach someone who already knows your story, your history, and where you're trying to get to, instead of starting over each time.
→ If yes, relationship-based care is the whole point. -
Are you willing to pay a transparent monthly fee for unlimited access?
DPC runs on a flat membership — you know the price before you walk in, with no copays or surprise bills for your visits. Because the practice isn't built on a copay per visit, I can see you several times in a month without adding a charge each time — and a lot of questions and concerns get handled by phone or telemedicine at no additional cost. Healthcare made simple. Taking the insurance oversight out of the patient–physician relationship lets us focus on medicine that's in line with what you actually need — not what an insurance plan is willing to pay for. For some people that predictability is a relief. For others, paying monthly alongside insurance feels like one bill too many.
→ If yes, the transparency is the part members love most. -
Do you want integrative, functional, and hormone care under one roof?
If you've been bounced between a primary doctor, a hormone clinic, and a weight-loss program that never talk to each other, having it coordinated by one physician changes everything. My practice combines HRT, medical weight loss, and functional and integrative medicine with everyday primary care — one relationship, one plan. To do this kind of work well, though, insurance often raises too many guardrails — limits that get in the way of a thorough evaluation and the treatment you actually need. Once again, taking insurance out of the relationship lets us focus on what you need, not on what a plan is willing to pay for.
It's your health, your time, and your money — and we'll work together to optimize all three.
→ If yes, you're describing what this practice was built to do.
The honest next step isn't to sign up — it's to talk.
A phone call costs you nothing, there's no obligation, and you'll get a straight answer about whether this actually fits your life and your health. If you want the practical details first — what membership includes, whether you can keep your insurance, and how the costs really compare — that's all laid out in Introduction to Hometown Health DPC.
What DPC is not
Direct Primary Care is not health insurance, and it isn't a replacement for it. Your membership covers the primary care relationship — visits, messaging, care coordination, and many in-office services — but it does not pay for hospital stays, surgery, specialists, imaging, or emergencies.
That's why most members pair their membership with a high-deductible plan, a catastrophic plan, or a Health Share program to cover the big, unexpected things. If what you want is a single product that does everything, DPC on its own isn't it — and I'd rather tell you that now than after you've joined.
If this sounds like what you've been looking for — let's talk.
Give us a call for more information — no obligation, no pressure, just a real conversation with a physician who has time to listen. You can also visit www.hometownhealthdpc.com to read more about my mission and what I offer.
Give us a call for more informationThe 3-part series
Part 1 · The story
Why I left insurance
After eighteen years in family medicine, why I walked away from insurance-based care — and why it means more of me, not less.
Part 2 · The guide Introduction to Hometown Health DPCMembership tiers, insurance compatibility, the honest cost comparison, and who gets the most out of DPC.
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