Subscriber-based primary care clinics continue to grow in New Braunfels

According to DPC Frontier, there are about 2,300 clinics that choose the DPC model in the lower 48 states and Washington, D.C. In the San Antonio area, DPC Frontier lists 20 such practices, six of those within New Braunfels.

To qualify as a DPC practice, the clinic must:

• Charge a periodic fee
• Not bill any third parties on a fee-for-service basis
• Not charge a fee per visit that is more than the monthly or periodic fee

What’s special about it?

The newest clinic in New Braunfels is a pediatric practice that opened in March. Dr. Jennigale Webb operates Prickly Pear Pediatrics. Webb said many of the reasons patients are choosing doctors operating by this membership model are the same reasons practices are moving to that model.

Webb spent about five years in a traditional practice before opening her clinic. Outside of the payment model, Webb said DPC allows her more time with patients.

“I was really just feeling at my other job that I didn't have enough time with patients. Most checkups are scheduled for between 15-30 minutes, including the newborns, and I would really feel like I needed to spend an hour with a new family going over all the things,” Webb said. “I started looking into other ways to practice because in an insurance-driven clinic you need to see a certain number of patients a day, and you only have so many hours in a day, which means that you have to schedule patients that way.”

Breaking it down

According to a 2020 study by the Society of Actuaries, DPC patient members saw an average of almost 20% lower claim costs for employers, 40% fewer emergency room visits and 25% lower hospital admissions, among other findings.

Webb said some patients have traditional or high deductible insurance and choose to pay the membership on top of that for benefits they see in it.

“If you go to [an insurance-based practice], you don't quite know what you're going to be paying, and every little test is an extra charge on that,” Webb said. “So, with mine, no matter how long I take or what I do, it’s going to be the same price.”