Why the Direct Primary Care model

At RiverCross Health, we believe primary care should be the strongest part of your healthcare—not an afterthought squeezed into a rushed visit. In the typical insurance-based clinic, primary care visits average about 15–20 minutes and often cover several problems at once, which means only a couple of minutes per issue. (Wolters Kluwer) On top of that, doctors routinely spend as much or more time on documentation, billing, and insurance requirements as they do with patients face to face. (PMC)

At the same time, health insurance premiums and deductibles have climbed faster than wages for many workers, shifting more of the cost of care onto families without necessarily improving access to their own physician. (PMC)

Our answer is simple: remove insurance from the routine primary care relationship so we can focus our time, energy, and money on you.

What you get as a RiverCross Health member

  • Same-day or next-day appointments for urgent concerns

  • Longer, unhurried visits so we can actually solve problems instead of rushing through them

  • Unlimited visits and consults — in person, by video, phone, or secure messaging

  • Direct text/phone access to your physician for quick questions and follow-up

  • Clear monthly membership fee with no surprise copays or facility fees

  • No insurance billing for primary care — you keep your insurance for specialists, ER, hospital care, surgery, and other big-ticket events

Why this structure works better

Traditional insurance is built to protect you from large, unpredictable expenses: hospitalizations, surgeries, ER visits, expensive imaging, and procedures. It does that reasonably well.

It is a poor tool for everyday, predictable primary care.

When every office visit has to be run through insurance, practices are forced into high-volume schedules, complex coding, and heavy documentation to get paid. Administrative and billing costs account for a large share of U.S. health spending, and much of that burden lands directly in primary care. (Creyos) The result: shorter visits, less access, and burned-out physicians.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) flips that script. Instead of billing your insurance for each visit, we charge a straightforward membership fee. Studies of DPC and similar models show that cutting out insurance billing can reduce practice overhead by roughly 30–40%, allow for much smaller patient panels, and significantly increase the time physicians spend with each patient. (Mercatus Center) That reclaimed time and money goes into same- or next-day access, longer visits, proactive outreach, and better continuity.

In short:

  • Insurance is best for:

    • Hospitalizations, ER visits, surgery

    • Specialists, procedures, advanced imaging

  • Direct primary care is best for:

    • Routine and preventive care

    • Chronic disease management

    • Quick questions, minor urgent issues, and follow-up

    • Building a long-term relationship with a physician who actually knows you

At RiverCross Health, we use insurance where it makes sense (big, unpredictable costs) and take it out of the equation where it gets in the way (day-to-day primary care).

Explore our “How It Works” page to see the details, or click “Become a Member” to get started.