WHAT WE GET ASKED MOST
Frequently Asked Questions
If your question isn’t here, please reach out — we’ll answer directly.
About Direct Primary Care
DPC is a membership model for primary care. Instead of billing your insurance for every visit, we charge a flat monthly fee that covers your primary care: visits, messaging, in-office procedures, and chronic care. You still keep your insurance for things outside primary care — specialists, hospital care, emergencies, and imaging. You’ll find more details on our Membership page.
The insurance-based system has made it progressively harder to provide primary care well, with shorter visits, longer waits, more paperwork, and fewer chances to actually catch problems early. With a DPC model, we will be able to channel our time and effort towards excellent patient care. Read Dr. Bean’s letter for the full story.
It’s a relative, but not the same thing. Concierge medicine usually charges a high annual retainer in addition to billing insurance. DPC charges a single monthly fee, takes insurance entirely out of the primary care relationship, and is designed to be affordable for working families and individuals.
Insurance and Cost
No. It’s a membership for the primary care part of your healthcare. Most members keep insurance for specialists, hospital care, and emergencies.
Yes, and we usually recommend it. A high-deductible health plan paired with a DPC membership is a common, affordable combination that covers both your everyday care (the membership) and the unexpected (your insurance).
Generally, yes! In Oregon, HB 2540 ensures that you can submit your membership fee receipts to your insurance plan* and have those fees count towards your deductible and annual Out of Pocket Max.
Please note that you cannot use HSA funds to cover your membership fees if you are applying the fees towards your deductible and Out of Pocket Max.
*Kaiser Permanente insurance is the exception and does not apply DPC membership fees to deductibles or Out of Pocket Maximums.
Lab work and medications dispensed through us are typically HSA- and FSA-eligible. The membership fee itself is also HSA-eligible and can be paid with pre-tax dollars, unless you apply it to your insurance deductible (see above). It can come from your HSA or offset your insurance deductible, but not both at the same time.
Often, yes — especially once you factor in copays, prescriptions, labs, and urgent care visits. Many members find they save more on labs and medications alone than they pay in monthly dues. But the truer answer is that DPC is a different kind of value: more time with your physician, faster access, fewer surprises.
You’re paying for access — same- or next-day appointments, direct messaging with your physician, and care that’s there the moment you need it. Imagine skipping the urgent care and its surprise bills. Many healthy members will find they save more on routine labs and prescriptions alone than they pay in membership fees.
Yes — and we want to make this transition easy for our existing Medicare patients. Apply now to save your spot with your physician, and your DPC care will begin January 1st. Through December 31, 2026, we will continue to see Medicare patients under the existing model, billing Medicare as we always have.
Effective January 1, 2027, all West Salem Family Practice physicians are opting out of Medicare. Medicare patients who have a reserved spot with a physician will transition to a DPC membership model.
Medicare requires patients to sign a private contract when their physician has opted out; we’ll walk through that paperwork with you.
If you are a current Medicare patient with questions about what this means for you, please call (503) 371-3232.
Care Logistics
You’ll use your insurance for that, just as you do now. We’ll refer and help coordinate.
Use your insurance for those, the way you always have. For emergencies, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Imaging isn’t included in the membership. We’ll order what you need and you’ll use your insurance — or pay cash at typically discounted rates if you’re uninsured.
Members have direct phone, text, and email access to their physician — including for things that come up after hours. For emergencies, always call 911 first.
Many common prescriptions are dispensed directly from our office at wholesale cost. For everything else, we’ll send the prescription to your pharmacy as usual.
Most routine lab work is available at wholesale prices through our practice — often a fraction of what insurance gets billed. Some specialized labs may need to go through your insurance.
Membership Specifics
Yes, at any time, with written notice. We don’t lock you in. However, please bear in mind that re-enrollment may not be possible after cancelation.
If your age is a number, we’ll see you. From newborns on up, the practice cares for whole families across the lifespan.
Each physician keeps their patient panel intentionally limited so they have time for every patient. Enrollment in DPC is limited to current patients until September 1st.
Yes — see the Membership page. The Single + kids and Couple + kids tiers cover up to 4 children up to 24 years old at a flat rate.
We provide preventive and primary care for women through pregnancy, but obstetric and delivery care is not part of the membership — that’s handled by your OB or midwife and the hospital or birthing center. We are glad to coordinate with your OB or midwife.
We’ll send them what they need. Care coordination is an important part of Primary Care.
Still have questions?
Call us at (503) 371-3232 during office hours — we’re glad to talk it through. Or, if you’re ready, apply now.