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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 21 J U LY 1 3 , 2 0 2 6 F O C U S H E A LT H C A R E / W E L L N E S S Many people assume a membership model is only for wealthy patients or confuse direct primary care with concierge medicine, says Oakley. "In a concierge model, the physician typi- cally bills both insurance and the patient, which increases administrative costs and often leads to higher monthly fees," says Oakley. "Direct primary care is different. By not contracting with insur- ance, we keep overhead low and pass that value on to patients. In many cases, it results in a lower overall cost compared to what patients currently spend on co-pays, urgent care visits, medications and other out-of-pocket expenses. ere are no hidden fees, which allows patients to better plan for their health care." McKeon agrees that education is needed. But more people are coming to understand the model. "I constantly tell people that they don't need to wait until they are sick or have a problem to come in," McKeon says. "By providing preventa- tive support and education, we are proactive. But people are used to waiting until they have a major problem and feel sick, so this has been a lot of the education I am doing." Small-employer enrollment Awareness is growing. Word-of-mouth has been important for Higgins' practice. "Once you have a patient understand what it is and have a positive experience, they tell everyone they know," Higgins says. "We have probably 10 calls per day from people wanting to sign up." Higgins and other practitioners are enrolling small employers who might be unable to afford health insurance but can pay for employee member- ship. Daggett, who has enrolled four small groups, says the model offers enough flexibility for him to travel periodically to the workplace. Browne and others promote awareness through community outreach such as setting up a table at local events and hosting talks. "I do a lot of meet-and-greets with small busi- nesses that are considering ways to support their teams," says Daggett. "at's been a theme – how do you keep costs down when insurance costs are on the rise? A lot of businesses are taking that proac- tive approach." 'Sense of ease' "Once people understand the model, they really embrace it," says Oakley. "Having direct access through same-day or next-day appointments, 30-to-60-minute visits and the ability to call or text me for urgent needs has been especially meaning- ful. It helps patients avoid unnecessary urgent care visits, allows time to more thoughtfully manage medical conditions so specialist referrals are more appropriate, and brings a sense of ease and continu- ity back to their care." Says McKeon, "Medicine has become a business of disease, but this model is a way to promote health and healing." L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t l s c h r e i b e r @ m a i n e b i z . b i z Mainebiz seeks to honor the young professional and rising stars of Maine's business community for our 40 Under 40 Awards. SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS BY AUGUST 3RD AT MAINEBIZ .BIZ/NOMINATIONS Nominate an outstanding young Maine leader today! S PONS OR ED BY P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E LY P R I M A R Y C A R E From left, Mainely Primary Care family nurse practitioners Deborah Pitchforth, Philip Browne and Jeremy Libby work with patients' insurance and also on building an ecosystem for people who can no longer afford insurance or are choosing to go without it.

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