Direct Primary Care is a model of healthcare that focuses on the physician-patient relationship and providing high-quality care that is convenient, accessible, and responsive. DPC practices don’t bill insurance, eliminating the constraints, confusion around billing, and price hikes that come with insurance. The DPC model offers comprehensive care with a full range of personalized services through a low monthly membership fee. Your doctor can spend more time interacting with YOU instead of interacting with your insurance. For more information see DPCnation.org which was created by patients for patients.
Short answer: Over 80-90% of your healthcare needs!
Longer answer:
- Routine Annual Exam/ Check-ups
- Chronic care management (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, etc.)
- Same-day or next-day acute visits - in person or remote (text, phone call, video)
- Nutrition and exercise counseling
- Mental health screening and medication management (e.g. depression, anxiety, ADHD)
- Prenatal care up to 12 weeks
- Contraception management
- Free point-of-care strep, Covid, flu, and UTI tests as indicated
- Minor procedures free or at-cost (at-cost for medications, no charge for time or instruments!)
- Expedited referrals to specialists and free or discounted specialist eConsults
- Discounted lab pricing
- Discounted imaging (x-rays, MRI, CT, ultrasound)
- FREE PARKING! (which is a “mental health” and “financial health” benefit 🙂)
This model allows us to provide our patients with personalized care and direct access to their physician. Our fixed price allows our members to budget their healthcare finances without worrying about unexpected or hidden medical costs. You never pay a co-pay or have to worry that an unexpected illness will ruin your monthly budget.
The short answer is No. The longer answer is: we welcome patients with any insurance or no insurance. Insurance is helpful and recommended for expensive healthcare costs like hospitalization, surgery, or emergency care. In many cases, insurance can be helpful for certain labs, imaging, prescriptions, and specialty care. A few HMO plans will not allow you to have a DPC physician as your PCP. We're happy to guide you on how to check this. But otherwise, Dr. Marsh can still fill all the roles that she has as your primary care physician no matter what insurance plan you have.
No, DPC is not insurance. We encourage all members to have health insurance or a medical cost-sharing plan. Often a high-deductible, low-monthly-premium plan works well with a DPC membership. This way, you will have coverage for unforeseen and/or high-cost care such as hospitalization, surgery, or specialty care.
Most insurances do not accept membership fees as reimbursable expenses. Because DPC is not insurance and does not bill any third party for services, in most cases, you may use a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) for membership fees, but you should check with your employer to be sure. The Primary Care Enhancement Act has been introduced in Congress, and if approved, would allow use of HSA and FSA to pay for DPC membership fees without limitations. We will update here if/when that is passed.
It is not. While there are similarities – periodic membership fee, direct access to your doctor, etc. – DPC is distinct from concierge care. Typically, the membership fee for DPC is significantly lower and more affordable for more people. Also, many – though not all – concierge practices bill your insurance for services, which can leave you responsible for portions of care not covered by your insurance including co-pays. Both models provide personalized, accessible care for their patients.
We care for everyone—from those in peak health to those managing multiple chronic conditions and everyone in between. Our approach is personal – meeting you wherever you are on your health journey and tailoring care to fit your unique needs. We believe that everyone benefits from the time, attention, and comprehensive services we provide, and our memberships are never based on pre-existing conditions or level of health.
For those in excellent health, we focus on keeping you that way while also optimizing your well-being through a blend of traditional and lifestyle medicine approaches. When the unexpected happens—whether it’s an illness or an injury—we’re here to provide prompt care, helping you avoid unnecessary and costly trips to the ER or urgent care. With DPC, your health is always the priority, not insurance codes or rushed appointments.
Just call, text, or email us! Dr. Marsh will be reachable during normal business hours, and we will respond to texts, emails, or voicemails usually within a few hours at most. For urgent needs after-hours or on weekends, enrolled patients will be able to contact Dr. Marsh’s urgent line directly. Any non-urgent needs will be responded to within 24 hours or the next business day. And, of course, for true emergencies, you should call 9-1-1 or head to the nearest hospital!
Great question! Dr. Marsh can still order labs and imaging through agreements with local labs and imaging companies. In many cases, labs can be drawn during your clinic visit, and you will have the option to either have them billed to your insurance by the lab company or pay a low cash price (e.g. a few dollars per lab instead of $100s that would be billed to your insurance). Specific lab and imaging agreements are pending, and this information will be updated as soon as the full details are available. The only rare exception to our ability to order labs/ imaging/ referrals and using your insurance will be certain HMO plans which will require an in-network PCP to order those. You'll need to check with your insurance, and we're happy to give guidance on how to ask about this.
First of all, we love vaccines! What an amazing, life-saving, disease-decreasing, even cancer-preventing discovery! That said, we know not all people are fully on board with (or able to receive) all vaccines, and we are happy to discuss any hesitations you have. In terms of how we will administer them at Firefly, we are working on a few different ways to offer recommended vaccinations for children and adults at low or no cost to you. We will update this section as soon as the plan is in place! Stay tuned.
One-time enrollment fee: $50/person
Monthly Memberships:
Individual adult: $100/mo
Adult plus Spouse/Partner: $180/mo
Child (0-18)
$30/mo (w/ 1+ adult family member enrolled)
$50/mo (with no enrolled family members)
Young adult (19-26): $75/mo
Honor-my-Mama (age 94+) $75/mo
Optional:
In-Home appointment: $100 per visit
For additional family pricing, please send us an email: info@fireflyfamilymedicine.com.
Great question! We have a limited number of income-based “health equity discounts” to make our care more accessible when cost is prohibitive. Please contact us to inquire, instead of assuming you cannot afford a membership: info@fireflyfamilymedicine.com.
Traditional healthcare is often frustrating—rushed appointments, long wait times, surprise bills, and a system that rewards quantity over quality. With Direct Primary Care, your doctor’s success isn’t measured by how many patients they see or tests they order. Instead, it’s about keeping you as healthy as possible through affordable, accessible, and comprehensive care. Also, without the stress of insurance-driven checklists, your doctor can be focused on you – not paperwork. DPC puts human connection back at the center of primary care.
If you try DPC, we think you’ll love it and never want to leave. But, if we’re wrong, you are free to cancel your membership at any time with a 30-day written notice (paper or email). There is no long-term contract. If you want to re-enroll in the future, there will be a $200 re-enrollment fee, if availability allows.