What Is Direct Primary Care and Why It’s Transforming Healthcare in Colorado
Learn how Direct Primary Care (DPC) works, why it’s growing in Colorado, and how it helps patients save money, get faster appointments, and receive more personal care.
Larisa Lopatko
11/10/20252 min read
What Is Direct Primary Care (DPC)?
Direct Primary Care is a simple idea that is reshaping how people receive healthcare. Instead of billing insurance for every visit, patients pay a flat monthly membership fee that covers most primary care needs. This approach gives you direct access to your clinician for routine visits, follow-up care, and preventive support without surprise bills or long waits.
At Avelia Medical in Lafayette, Colorado, we use the DPC model to make healthcare more personal, accessible, and transparent.
How It Works
Your membership covers care directly through your clinician, without the insurance middle layer.
Included services:
Same or next business day appointments
Longer visits (30–60 minutes)
Preventive exams, chronic condition management, and minor procedures
Communication by text, phone, or video
Wholesale pricing for labs and supplements
You get time and attention when you need it instead of waiting weeks for a rushed 10-minute appointment.
Why Traditional Healthcare Feels So Frustrating
In most insurance-based practices, 30–40% of every healthcare dollar goes to administrative overhead rather than patient care. That includes billing staff, insurance coding, claims processing, and layers of insurance administrators who never see a patient.
This system forces clinicians to see large volumes of patients just to stay afloat. That is why you often wait weeks for an appointment, get only a few minutes of face time, and are told you can discuss only one concern per visit. These limits are not medical. They are driven by insurance requirements.
Direct Primary Care removes those inefficiencies and allows your clinician to focus on you.
Affordable, Transparent, and Flexible
For many patients, DPC is also a financial solution. It provides predictable, transparent pricing at a fraction of what traditional care often costs. For those who cannot afford a full insurance plan, DPC membership still covers most ongoing and preventive health needs.
If you do carry insurance, DPC works alongside it. You can still use your plan for labs, imaging, prescriptions, or major medical events.
Starting in 2026, membership fees are also eligible for HSA reimbursement and count toward deductibles for those with high-deductible health plans (limits apply, consult your CPA or IRS).
Benefits of Direct Primary Care
Access: Same or next business day visits
Time: 30–60 minute appointments
Personalization: Care for the whole person, not just one symptom
Transparency: Simple, predictable pricing
Prevention: A focus on long-term wellness and root causes
Why It Is Growing in Colorado
More patients are turning to Direct Primary Care because it makes healthcare human again. In Lafayette, Louisville, Boulder, Broomfield. Westminster, Thornton, Denver, Golden, and across Colorado families are choosing DPC for convenient access, transparent pricing, and genuine relationships with their clinician.
Going Deeper with Functional Medicine
For patients who want to explore their health at a deeper level, Avelia Medical also offers a Functional Medicine plan.
Functional Medicine looks beyond symptoms to identify and address the root causes of issues such as fatigue, hormonal imbalance, gut health, or autoimmune concerns. As medical practitioners, we use science-backed, evidence-based approaches that combine conventional diagnostics with advanced testing, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies.
It is designed for people who want a more detailed investigation into their health and prefer an approach that blends medical science with personalized lifestyle, nutrition, and hormonal strategies.
The Bottom Line
Direct Primary Care restores time, access, and trust to the patient–clinician relationship. For those who want to go even further, Functional Medicine provides a deeper look at the “why” behind persistent health issues.
If you are ready for care that prioritizes you, not insurance paperwork, Avelia Medical offers a better way forward.
Topics covered: direct primary care Colorado, Lafayette CO doctor, DPC clinic Colorado, cash pay primary care, affordable healthcare Colorado, Avelia Medical Lafayette, functional medicine Lafayette CO

