How DPC Saves Money and Improves Your Family’s Health

Think about the last time you sat down to look at your family’s budget. The mortgage or rent is there, groceries, childcare, maybe a car payment. And then there’s healthcare—one of the biggest expenses on the list. You’d expect that kind of investment to guarantee easy access and good care. But for many families, it doesn’t. Instead, you wait weeks for an appointment, rush through a 10-minute visit, and still walk away wondering why you’re paying so much for so little.

For years, families have tried to solve this in one of two ways. Some choose low-deductible insurance plans: pay a steep monthly premium in exchange for smaller copays. On paper, it looks safe. In reality, families often spend $10,000 to $12,000 a year on premiums and out-of-pocket costs—even if they rarely set foot in a doctor’s office.

The other option is the high-deductible plan. Monthly premiums feel more manageable, but the tradeoff is huge deductibles—$6,000 or $7,000 before insurance covers much at all. That means paying out of pocket for every office visit, lab, or urgent care trip until you hit that threshold. For many families, it leads to skipped appointments and delayed care, which can make small problems much bigger.

No matter which route you choose, it rarely feels like a win.

But there’s a third option. Keep a high-deductible plan in place for the rare, expensive events—hospital stays, surgeries, major imaging—and pair it with a Direct Primary Care (DPC) membership for everything else. For a simple monthly fee, you get unlimited access to your doctor for the care you actually use most: same- or next-day visits when you’re sick, longer appointments that give you time to be heard, and easy communication by phone, text, or video whenever questions come up. No copays, no surprise facility fees, no waiting weeks for help. Just the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can reach your doctor when you need them, and that your everyday care won’t get lost in the shuffle.

And here’s the best part: a new federal law—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—just made this model even stronger. In the past, paying for a DPC membership with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), making it harder to take advantage of one of the best tax tools available. Starting in 2026, that barrier disappears. You’ll still be able to contribute to your HSA, and you’ll even be able to use those pre-tax dollars to cover your DPC membership. In other words, the law finally caught up with common sense: keep insurance for the big, unexpected expenses, let your DPC doctor handle the rest, and enjoy the flexibility to choose a path that works best for your family.

The math makes sense, but what really matters is the experience. With DPC plus a high-deductible plan, less of your money disappears into bureaucracy and more of it goes toward care that actually serves you. You don’t put off a visit because you’re worried about the bill. You don’t wait weeks when something feels off. Instead, you know exactly what your care costs, and you know your doctor is just a call or text away when you need them most.

At Marin Family Medicine, this is exactly the kind of care we’ve built our practice around. By keeping our patient panel intentionally small, we make room for same- or next-day visits, unhurried conversations, direct communication when questions come up, and transparent pricing on common labs and medications. Insurance is still there for the unexpected, but your everyday health is cared for in a way that feels personal, thoughtful, and straightforward.

We’re opening in January 2026 and are welcoming new patients to pre-register. If you’re ready for healthcare that’s simpler, more personal, and affordable, we’d love to meet you. Send us a message today and take the first step toward care that keeps you at the center.