Managing benefits and open enrollment each year is a heavy lift. HR leaders have tight timelines to not only evaluate modified or new health plan benefits, but also communicate changes in costs and eligibility rules to employees. Thus, adding a new healthcare benefit such as direct primary care (DPC) may seem like an added burden, however with dedicated support and smart tech, implementing DPC is one of the most seamless and impactful additions to your health benefits that you can make. With a net promoter score of well above 70, DPC is also a health benefit that will increase employee satisfaction.
Direct primary care puts you and your employees in the driver’s seat when it comes to personal health and well-being by offering direct access to a dedicated clinician who can address all primary care needs for an affordable monthly membership fee.
Employers usually add DPC to their health benefits packages in one of two ways:
Beginning January 1, 2026, new legislation goes into effect qualifying DPC membership fees as an eligible expense for HSA funds and applicable to out-of-pocket costs in a high deductible health plan. This policy shift encourages more participation in DPC and provides financial advantages, making a DPC membership a benefit that employees won’t want to miss. Prior to this legislation, most employers would add DPC to a PPO or Reference Based Pricing plan, but now this new law opens up DPC to people with high deductible health plans, which is important as these individuals often avoid necessary care due to unknown or high costs.
High-quality primary care addresses up to 80% of an individual’s healthcare needs, including chronic disease management, urgent care services, preventive screenings, and wellness support. Direct primary care (DPC) enhances employee care as it offers direct access to a dedicated local clinician to your employees, reducing the reliance on urgent care clinics and the ER, which are more costly centers of care. A DPC membership encourages a more proactive approach to employees’ health as the monthly fee covers all primary care needs. With DPC, you eliminate the mystery of cost and surprise bills that often discourages people from seeking care.
By offering the benefit of a DPC membership:
Hint Connect makes rolling out a DPC benefit really easy for HR teams. By operating with a streamlined process, an intelligent tech platform, and dedicated support, you can rest assured that offering DPC via Hint Connect is the best way to implement the benefit. Plus you get the added bonus of Hint Connect serving as your single point of contact for all health benefit vendors including TPAs, PBMs, virtual care solutions, care navigators, and more, making the overall benefits ecosystem easier for HR teams to manage.
Before any contract is signed, Hint Connect performs a detailed geo-analysis that matches employees to nearby DPC practices. Any gaps in coverage get resolved within weeks to ensure every employee has access to DPC.
Once an employer moves forward, Hint Connect:
Hint Connect syncs with benefits platforms, such as Employee Navigator and Paylocity. For employer groups with over 100 employees, an SFTP auto-sync option keeps all data updated in real time without manual input.
Employers can elect to have in-depth reporting on their DPC benefit with Health Compiler, which aggregates insights similar to the way insurance companies report on claims data and includes:
The dashboard is live and accessible daily, designed to support ongoing benefits management.
By investing in direct primary care (DPC), employers are hedging against future risk. Avoidance of care often leads to worsening chronic conditions and higher claims costs. Offering DPC closes any gaps in care delivery and encourages engagement with primary care. Personalizing healthcare with a dedicated DPC clinician helps employees better manage their holistic health.
To ensure that employers achieve high utilization for their investment in DPC, all participating DPC practices engage with enrolled employees to schedule their first appointment. When new DPC members connect with their doctor, it's a breath of fresh air as they truly get the opportunity to be heard and become proactive about their health.
Hint Connect offers dedicated support for the duration of your contract with monthly meetings and continued education on direct primary care, so that you can maximize the return on your investment with engaged and healthy employees.
Accessing the DPC benefit via Hint Connect is simple and straightforward, designed to transparently deliver measurable ROI and value, producing a healthier, happier, and more productive workforce.
Learn more about Hint Connect today.