Running an in-house pharmacy is one of the best ways DPC clinics help patients save. Now, there’s an even easier way to stretch those savings further.
We’ve partnered with AndaMEDs to create a group purchasing account that gives clinics access to better wholesale pricing on the medications they already use every day.
For example, clinics in the buying group often pay around $2 instead of $9 for a 30-count of amoxicillin 500 mg: a savings of nearly 80% compared to typical GoodRx pricing.
And here’s the best part: the Atlas.md + AndaMEDs Buying Group is open to all clinics, whether you’re using Atlas.md or another platform entirely.
Joining takes just a minute, and the savings can make a real difference for your practice and your patients.
So if you know a clinic that isn’t part of Atlas.md but still wants to pass on meaningful savings to their patients, share this article and invite them to join!
For years, DPC doctors and patients have faced an unnecessary hurdle: federal rules created uncertainty around whether a DPC membership could be combined with a Health Savings Account (HSA), and many people avoided doing so.
That’s changing.
Since the passing of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, DPC will finally be recognized for what it is: a direct medical service. Patients will be able to pair DPC memberships with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and use their HSAs to pay for DPC, all without jeopardizing their HSA eligibility.
This guide will give you everything you need to know about HSAs, what’s changing, how these changes affect your patients, employers, and DPC as a whole, and how to communicate these changes effectively.
Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), the money in an HSA rolls over year after year; there’s no “use it or lose it.”
The account is portable, meaning it belongs to the patient rather than their employer, and it also offers retirement flexibility. After age 65, funds can be withdrawn for non-medical expenses and are taxed the same as ordinary retirement income.
Together, these features make an HSA much more than a short-term spending tool. For many patients, it functions as both a healthcare fund and a long-term savings vehicle.
How HSAs Work in Practice
Most patients use their HSA for everyday qualified expenses, such as office visits, prescriptions, lab tests, mental health care, and medical devices. HSAs function almost like a debit card, except with the bonus of tax-free spending.
There’s also a retirement twist: once a patient turns 65, HSA withdrawals for non-medical expenses are simply taxed like regular retirement income. That means an HSA acts like a hybrid: part health fund, part retirement account.
For everyday care, though, the main value is straightforward: patients use pre-tax dollars to pay for the care they need, when they need it.
What’s Changing
For years, many patients wanted to know if they could use their HSA to pay for their DPC membership. They could use HSAs for labs, imaging, or prescriptions ordered through their DPC doctor, but not the membership fee itself.
However, DPC will soon be formally recognized as a qualified medical expense under federal law. In practical terms, this means patients will be able to use HSA funds to pay for their monthly DPC memberships, just as they would for any other direct healthcare service.
On top of that, patients enrolled in DPC who also have a qualified high-deductible health plan will be allowed to contribute to an HSA. This means they’ll be able to enjoy the simplicity of direct care and the tax advantages of an HSA.
The telehealth safe harbor is now permanent, allowing patients to use telehealth services— including DPC virtual visits—before meeting their deductible without affecting HSA eligibility.
The Dependent Care FSA limit increases from $5,000 to $7,500 per household (or $3,750 if married filing separately) and is not indexed for inflation. This gives employers more flexibility when designing benefits.
The IRS will issue additional guidance in the coming months to clarify documentation standards and reimbursement procedures. We expect to see specifics on:
How clinics should itemize HSA-eligible charges
How patients can substantiate claims if audited
How the monthly caps will adjust for inflation
Basically, the framework is set. Now, we’re waiting for the fine print.
What This Means for Your Clinic
You don’t need to overhaul your practice, but a few smart updates will set you up for success. The goal is to make your DPC structure crystal clear: you provide medical care, not insurance. That distinction will matter when patients start using their HSAs for membership payments.
Here’s how to prepare:
Offer clear, itemized invoices. Some patients will need statements to submit for HSA reimbursement; others may pay directly with an HSA debit card. Transparent, consistent invoices make it easy either way.
Educate your patients early. A brief email or handout explaining what’s changing and when will position your clinic as a trusted guide. Consider including the $150/$300 HSA caps so patients understand the rules upfront.
These are minor adjustments, but they’ll save you time, strengthen compliance, and demonstrate to patients that you’re ready for the next chapter of DPC.
Opportunities with Employers and HDHPs
This change doesn’t just benefit individual patients; it opens a huge opportunity for employer partnerships. For years, many small businesses have sought to combine DPC with HDHPs, but the HSA restrictions have made that combination legally murky.
Now, that barrier is gone. Employers can confidently build benefit packages that blend:
Together, these pieces form a comprehensive, affordable system, one that rewards prevention and puts doctors, not administrators, back at the center of care.
For DPC clinics, this opens new opportunities to partner with local employers. You can approach them not just as healthcare providers, but as strategic allies in lowering costs and improving access. Employers save money, employees get better care, and your practice becomes the foundation of a healthier, more sustainable benefits model.
How to Communicate the Change to Patients
Patients may not be familiar with the finer points of HSAs, so it helps to keep the explanation simple. One way is to frame the account as a kind of “tax-free health wallet.” They put money in before taxes, and when they spend it on medical care, they don’t owe taxes on it at all.
Explain how that money can be used to pay directly for their DPC membership. That means patients no longer have to think of DPC as separate from their health benefits; it’s fully part of their HSA strategy.
You might say something to the point like:
“Beginning in 2026, you’ll be able to use your HSA to pay for your DPC membership. You’ll keep your high-deductible plan for major coverage and use your HSA for ongoing primary care, all while saving on taxes.”
To make communication easy, consider a few quick steps:
Create a short FAQ or handout. Explain what’s changing, when it takes effect, and how patients can use HSA funds to cover their membership up to the federal limits of $150/month for individuals or $300/month for families.
Add a note to your website or onboarding materials. A short paragraph or banner update can reassure both new and existing members that your clinic is ready for the change.
Plan an email or text update once IRS guidance is final. A “Here’s what this means for you” message with a link to your FAQ will go a long way.
Your patients don’t need the legal fine print. They just need to know that the care they already love is about to get even easier to manage, and that you’ve got them covered every step of the way.
It can also be useful to paint the bigger picture. An HDHP handles catastrophic events, DPC provides everyday care, and the HSA ties it all together by offering patients a tax-advantaged way to fund both.
Encouraging patients to contribute regularly—even modest amounts—helps them build a cushion that covers not only routine care but also unexpected needs.
Why This Matters for the DPC Movement
This isn’t just a regulatory update: it’s a validation of everything DPC doctors have been building toward for years.
For years, DPC physicians have built a model centered on time, transparency, and trust, long before policymakers caught up.
With this legislative change, that commitment is being reflected at the national level. The law now makes clear that what happens inside your practice is medical care, not insurance.
Allowing HSA funds to be used for DPC memberships means patients can now invest pre-tax dollars in preventive, relationship-based care, the kind that keeps them healthier, longer.
And for the DPC community, it’s a turning point. It demonstrates that a grassroots, patient-first approach can influence federal policy, showing that when care is personal, it can scale.
This recognition doesn’t redefine DPC; it reinforces it. The system is simply catching up to what DPC doctors have been doing all along: delivering meaningful, measurable care without middlemen.
For years, one of the most common questions asked by both patients and employers has been: “Can I use my Health Savings Account (HSA) for my DPC membership?”
Until now, the answer has been stuck in a legal gray area.
This small but powerful change removes the ambiguity that kept many patients (and employers with high-deductible health plans) from applying HSA funds to DPC. Beginning in 2026, DPC stands on the same footing as office visits, prescriptions, and other traditional healthcare costs.
What this means for your clinic:
Patients save money by being able to use pre-tax dollars for their DPC membership.
Employers gain flexibility to include DPC in their benefit packages.
DPC gains parity with traditional healthcare spending, removing one of the last big financial barriers.
Your conversations get easier when explaining how patients can affordably join your practice.
This change is a huge validation of the DPC model and a win for DPC clinics everywhere. It acknowledges that membership-based care is not only legitimate but a valuable part of the healthcare landscape.
For clinics, it means more patients can access your care without financial gymnastics. For patients, it means less hesitation and more freedom to choose the kind of relationship-based medicine they want.
For the first time, the tax code recognizes what patients already know: direct care is real care.
The LA wildfires have left many facing loss, displacement, and uncertainty. In times of disaster, access to healthcare becomes more critical than ever. With traditional medical facilities often forced to close, residents have limited options for care. Direct Primary Care (DPC) offers a flexible, patient-centered approach that can help fill this gap, ensuring individuals and families receive the support they need in these crucial moments.
How? Well, since many DPC providers already offer telemedicine, patients can receive care remotely even when they can’t visit a clinic.
For displaced families, this means a doctor is just a call or video chat away. Prescriptions can be sent to the nearest pharmacy, and it becomes possible to receive ongoing medical support—without the red tape of insurance. On top of that, this eases pressure on emergency rooms and ensures people continue receiving care when it matters most.
A Call to Action: Mobilizing the DPC Community
This isn’t about capitalizing on a crisis. It’s about responding with meaningful solutions. The LA wildfires highlight the need for an agile and community-driven healthcare system. DPC is more than an affordable and convenient option—it’s a model that can withstand disasters and continue serving patients when they need it most.
As part of this effort, Atlas.md is offering free EMR access to doctors in affected areas. The right tools will help providers maintain patient records, offer telemedicine, and ensure uninterrupted care, even under the challenging conditions they find themselves in.
We’re calling on LA-based doctors and DPC providers nationwide to get involved. Whether it’s volunteering, offering free telemedicine consultations, or sharing resources, every contribution makes a difference. Together, we can prove that DPC isn’t just a healthcare model—it’s a lifeline for communities in crisis.
If you’re a doctor in LA or someone looking to contribute, reach out. Contact us at support@atlas.md and we’ll do our best to help.
Let’s make this vision a reality and show how the DPC model can help the community in difficult times.
Big healthcare is big business. And with a market cap topping $4.5 trillion, everyone wants a share of the profits. This is why the recent forays of retail giants like Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens in the healthcare sector aren’t surprising in the least.
While this might seem like a logical transition as big corporations find ways to expand, what’s not logical (at least at first glance) is that they… kind of suck at the whole healthcare thing.
To date, these retail giants have spent billions buying up primary care chains hoping to tap into the massive healthcare pie. But despite their colossal investments, each company has ended up with the same results — disappointment, unstaunched money hemorrhaging, and tsunamis of retrenchments.
With seemingly endless resources to tap into, why can’t these giants cut it when it comes to healthcare, especially when DPC clinics nationwide are continually lowering costs, increasing quality of care, and providing more access to patients everywhere?
Let’s find out.
The Big Business Approach
The clue to pinning down exactly why big businesses can’t hack healthcare lies in their approach.
Instead of starting from the ground up, connecting with communities, and building trust along the way, the corporate method is to acquire as many primary-care chains as possible and gain direct access to millions of patients.
These have been anything but smooth, and the plug-and-play approach proved that trying to enter the healthcare market without patient consideration is complex and costly.
The results speak for themselves:
In an attempt to reduce costs by around $100 million, Amazon laid off “a few hundred” One Medical staff, shutting corporate offices, and dramatically reducing marketing budgets.
So if the big business approach of “buy now and integrate later” doesn’t work, what makes DPC so successful, especially with fewer resources, staff, and patients?
There are a few different things to consider:
Lower overheads. Without the need to process insurance claims, DPC clinics can operate with lower overhead costs. This allows them to invest more in patient care and pass savings on to their patients.
Focus on prevention. Because DPC physicians focus on preventive care, they reduce the need for specialist and hospital care, which leads to healthier patients and lower overall healthcare costs.
Simplicity. DPC eliminates the complexity of insurance billing by charging patients a flat monthly fee. This can significantly reduce overhead costs and the hassle for both providers and patients. It also makes healthcare costs predictable, which patients really value.
Flexibility. DPC clinics are smaller and more nimble than large corporations. This means they can quickly adopt new technologies and practices that improve care and efficiency way faster. This flexibility is a significant advantage over lumbering big business healthcare models.
Patient first. The DPC model emphasizes the patient-doctor relationship, one built on care, community, and trust, rather than just the bottom line.
Simply put, DPC offers a simpler, more patient-centric approach, designed to reduce costs at every step of the healthcare journey.
Big Healthcare Is Struggling. DPC Has Never Been Healthier.
The above stories highlight how the attempt to graft complex healthcare services onto existing commercial infrastructures misses a crucial piece of the puzzle — patient care.
While scale and profitability are necessary from a business perspective, they clash with the personalized nature of effective healthcare delivery.
On the other hand, Direct Primary Care exemplifies how healthcare can thrive when it is built from the ground up, focusing primarily on patient care rather than profit margins.
By eliminating the middlemen and nurturing a relationship between patients and physicians, DPC shows what’s possible when healthcare sticks to its roots — providing quality, accessible, and affordable care with an uncomplicated, patient-focused approach.
There’s no question that the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is in the process of revolutionizing healthcare. Whether it’s reading medical images, X-rays, and scans, making sense of huge amounts of data to help diagnoses, or creating treatment plans, the scope of what AI can do in a medical context is staggering.
While this pace of change can seem intimidating, it’s actually a game-changer for doctors seeking to focus on their true passion – delivering quality patient care.
This is the whole reason we built Atlas.md – to reduce tedious administrative tasks and free up more time for you to do what you love.
AI is just another tool allowing us to do this. Whether it’s summarizing transcripts, creating SOAP notes, or using AI macros, our goal is to have you doing as little “work about work” so that you can spend as much time being a doctor as possible.
In the day-to-day of running a medical practice, this means getting rid of tedious administrative tasks that would otherwise take hours to churn through.
The reverberation of this trend has been felt across all industries burdened by excessive administrative work – status updates, cross-departmental communication, and everything else that isn’t part of the core, professional raison d’etre.
It makes sense that the deployment of AI would mean fewer humans doing this type of work – and it’s already taking place.
Recently, ResumeBuilder surveyed 750 business leaders using AI and found that 37% of them said the technology had replaced at least some workers in 2023. 44% of them said that AI would be the cause of layoffs in 2024.
For some, this might be a cause for alarm, but for others, it’s the necessary and inevitable streamlining of tasks that exist around actual work.
How does this relate to your own work as a doctor?
Think about how your day-to-day used to look when you worked at a hospital. Endless forms, red tape, suffocating paperwork – the opportunity cost of this work (as opposed to seeing patients) is enormous.
Traditional healthcare has turned doctors from complex clinical thinkers into clerks and typists. Not that there’s anything wrong with those professions – it’s just not the reason you went to a decade of medical school.
At face value, AI tools mean liberation from the mundane tasks that accompany every patient visit.
It means you’ll spend more time with a stethoscope in your hand than a pen and paper.
It means less time doing clerical admin, and more time helping the world.
There’s no feature update today, just some fantastic information that shows how simple tech protocols can have an outsized influence on patient health outcomes.
A recent study looked at the effects of using an automated-text messaging program to support primary care patients after being discharged from the hospital (as opposed to phone calls). The findings concluded that the use of an automated text message-based program was associated with 41% lower odds of readmission and the use of acute care resources for up to 30 days after being discharged.
The study used a total of 1885 patients representing 2617 discharges. The patients each received automated check-in text messages from their primary care practice following their discharge for 30 days. This wasn’t simply one-way communication; any issues the patients had following discharge were communicated back to practice staff, and their needs were escalated accordingly.
Since ordinary telephone outreach is costly in terms of time, capital, and human resources, the automated text-messaging program offers a low-cost and scalable method of checking in on patients while reducing the burden on practice staff.
This is music to our ears, as external communication is something that Atlas.md puts a massive focus on. Alongside mass emailing and video calls, scheduled text messages are one of the key communication tools Atlas.md provides to ensure your patients are happy, healthy, and healing at all stages of treatment.
What do you think about the use of automated text messaging and digital tools to augment healthcare protocols? Do you think this is something that could be connected to ICD-10 in the future? And which diagnoses do you think would benefit most from a greater frequency of scheduled messaging?
So, about all those subsidies for health insurance that fueled approximately 8 million sign-ups for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. They are on track to cost us billions of dollars this year, a new federal report indicates.
Nearly nine in 10 Americans who bought healthcare coverage on the federal government’s healthcare marketplaces received government assistance to offset their premiums.
Dr. Josh Umbehr, a DPC United Board Member and founder of Kansas-based Atlas MD, says, “Direct Primary Care has finally found traction with patients, physicians, employers, and insurance companies alike. However, DPC is still in its adolescence and it’s vital, now more than ever, that we have unity and clear leadership to guide the movement in the right direction.”
We’re excited that our model of care is rapidly gaining popularity. We now have a formal medical association. DPC United, founded by a group of pioneering physicians with DPC practices of their own, created the organization to promote the innovative DPC practice model to the nation.
“Direct Primary Care is one of the most exciting trends in healthcare today, and it has the true potential to solve many of our country’s healthcare problems.”says Samir Qamar, M.D., Chairman, DPC United.
Rock and roll.
Qamar, CEO of the nation’s largest Direct Primary Care physician group, MedLion Management, Inc., adds “It was time to create a guiding light for doctors and consumers interested in this promising healthcare model.”
The power of our model is its holistic approach to primary care. Doctors, whether they are family physicians or general internists, are forming direct contracts with consumers and businesses for very low fees.
We’re making health insurance unnecessary for routine care, and, in turn, lowering premiums for businesses who are insuring their employees.
Atlas MD literally saved a company so much money on their employee premiums, they gave their staff a raise.
And think, why would the insurance company actively lower premiums across the board?
It’s obvious. They perceived a greater value in keeping clients, who paid less money, since they saw an even greater reduction in potential payouts.
Simply stated, there are a two different ways to make more money i.e. increase profits. You can seek to increase your revenue and do your best to maintain expenses. Or, you can maintain your revenue while decreasing your expenses.
Why we’re allies of insurance companies is that we REDUCE their expenditures, massively.
In effect, DPC is NOT anti-insurance. We are pro-insurance, but only when it is appropriate–for major expenses. This combination of coverage for emergencies and hands-on care that is affordable and accessible is appealing to politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle.
As is explained in the new Affordable Care Act, DPC results in dramatic savings for consumers, and includes services like telemedicine and the benefit of shorter waits.
Industry experts are quick to point out that DPC is neither health insurance, nor the pricier “concierge medicine” practice model.
Several states, including Washington and Louisiana, have introduced legislation to support Direct Primary Care.
Attorney Michael McClelland, DPC United’s Executive Director and former Chief Prosecutor of California State Department of Managed Health Care, says it was time to form guiding principles to create an accepted standard for the DPC practice model. “The appeal of the DPC model is very strong from both practice and business perspectives. One of the organization’s goals is to ensure that practices endorsed by DPC United are properly set up as DPC practices to create consumer confidence.”
DPC United’s website, DPCUnited.org, features an online directory of established Direct Primary Care practices from across the nation, along with informational resources for consumers and doctors alike.
The nation’s largest primary care organization, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), is an open supporter of the Direct Primary Care model. They even outline a formal policy on their official website. Primary care doctors and patients are encouraged to visit the website, learn more about our model, and spread the word to employers, friends, and healthcare workers.
We know you’ve heard about it, but remember, every person who signs up on I Want Direct Care is one more reason for a primary care doctor to join the movement. One more reason for a student to follow through on the required education to become a DPC physician.
“With Direct Primary Care, we can affect real, sustainable change at every level of healthcare. By repairing primary care, the foundation of a strong healthcare system, America can once again enjoy good health,” says Dr. Qamar.
Rock on, Dr. Qamar. And rock on, DPC practitioners.
Dr. Frank Morgan has been practicing medicine for 13 years in Greeley. Like many of his fellow primary care purists, he wanted to spend more time with his patients and less time dealing with insurance paperwork.
That’s why he founded his new direct primary care clinic, Balance Health, 1709 61st Ave. Here, like us, he treats his patients without accepting insurance. Instead, patients pay a $99 monthly subscription for access to his personal primary care services, as well as access to the clinic’s gym and nutritional advice services.
