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Direct Primary Care vs. Concierge Medicine: The Honest Difference

By Foothill Family Medicine · Medically reviewed by our medical team · June 12, 2026

“Concierge” and “direct primary care” get used as if they’re the same thing. They’re not. Both give you more time and access than a typical insurance-based practice — but the way they’re paid for, and what you end up spending, can look completely different. Here’s the honest comparison.

The core difference, in one line

Most concierge practices still bill your insurance for your visits and charge a separate retainer on top for access. Direct primary care removes insurance from primary care entirely, in exchange for a flat monthly membership.

Everything else flows from that.

How concierge medicine usually works

In the classic concierge model, you pay an annual retainer — often $1,500 to $3,000 or more per year, and at the high end well beyond that — for enhanced access: a smaller panel, longer visits, your doctor’s cell number, same-day scheduling. But the practice also bills your insurance (and you) for the visits themselves, the way a normal practice does. The retainer buys the access; insurance still pays for the care.

That means with concierge medicine you’re typically paying twice: the membership retainer and your insurance premiums and cost-sharing.

How direct primary care works

Direct primary care takes insurance out of the primary-care equation. You pay a flat monthly membership directly to the practice, and that covers your primary care — visits, access, prevention, chronic-condition management — with no insurance billed for it and no copays for your visits. The American Academy of Family Physicians describes DPC as charging patients a periodic fee for primary care services in place of fee-for-service insurance billing (AAFP).

Because the practice isn’t billing insurance, it can also pass through wholesale-priced labs and medications, which often makes the all-in cost of everyday care lower than it first appears.

Side by side

So which is “better”?

Neither is universally better — they fit different families.

Direct primary care tends to fit people who want maximum transparency and predictable everyday costs, who are comfortable pairing the membership with a higher-deductible or catastrophic insurance plan, and who’d rather not run primary care through insurance at all.

Concierge medicine tends to fit people who want to keep a traditional, lower-deductible insurance plan and their existing in-network specialists exactly as they are, and are willing to pay a premium retainer purely for enhanced access on top of that.

Why we offer both

At Foothill, we built two membership tiers so families can choose the level of access that fits, without paying for more than they need:

• Direct Primary Care — $130/month per adult, $50/month per child, $300/month family cap. Our core membership: unhurried visits, direct access, transparent pricing, no insurance billed.
• Concierge — $250/month per adult, $100/month per child, $600/month family cap. A higher-touch tier: a smaller panel, 24/7 direct access including after hours, extended visits, home and virtual visits when appropriate, and hands-on coordination with specialists.

A one-time $150 registration fee applies to either tier. Both are memberships for primary care services — neither is health insurance, and both work best paired with a plan that covers hospital care, surgery, and specialists.

Not sure which fits? That’s exactly the kind of question we’re here to answer — no pressure. We’re a small direct primary care practice now forming in Glendora, and early members keep their founding rate.

This guide is general information about how care and membership work — it is not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for care from your own physician.