Direct Primary Care Sarasota
If you’re self-employed or run a small business, you’ve probably made a specific trade-off: a high-deductible health plan that’s affordable month-to-month but means routine primary care essentially comes out of pocket anyway, since you rarely hit the deductible for anything but a real emergency. In that situation, insurance is protecting you against catastrophe, not paying for your annual physical.
Direct Primary Care Sarasota (DPC) is built for exactly that gap — it gives you predictable primary care access without billing insurance for it. This page is written specifically for that financial situation.
How Direct Primary Care Pairs With a High-Deductible Plan
The typical setup: keep a high-deductible or catastrophic health plan for genuine emergencies, hospitalizations, and major medical costs, and add a direct primary care membership specifically for your day-to-day physician relationship. You’re not paying twice for the same thing; you’re covering two different kinds of risk with two different tools.
This is a common setup among Sarasota’s self-employed population specifically, since employer-sponsored insurance isn’t an option, and full-coverage individual plans are often expensive relative to how much routine care they actually cover.
Benefits Compared with Traditional Primary Care
High-Deductible Plan Alone vs. High-Deductible Plan + Direct Primary Care
| Category | High-Deductible Plan Alone | Plan + PPS Direct Primary Care |
|---|---|---|
| Routine visits | Often full cost until deductible met | Covered under flat membership fee |
| Physician relationship | Whichever provider is in-network that day | One consistent, private physician |
| Catastrophic coverage | Yes, through the plan | Still yes, through your existing plan |
| Preventive/wellness focus | Limited by visit economics | Built into membership structure |
Benefits Compared with Employer-Sponsored Primary Care
This setup tends to make the most financial sense for people who are generally healthy and use primary care mainly for prevention, occasional acute issues, and routine management — not for someone anticipating a major medical event or ongoing specialist-heavy treatment.
It’s worth running your own numbers: compare what you currently spend out-of-pocket on primary care visits under your existing plan against a flat membership fee, and factor in what you’d value from more time and access with a physician you see repeatedly.
A Practice Built Around This Exact Trade-Off
Dr. Carlos Caballero founded PPS in 2001 after concluding that insurance-driven billing structurally worked against the kind of attentive, preventive care self-employed patients often need most, and Dr. Jose Santana brings the same preventive-medicine focus, backed by a Harvard University School of Public Health degree in Community Health.
The Local Detail That Matters Here
Sarasota has a meaningful population of small business owners, contractors, and self-employed professionals — precisely the group for whom this insurance-plus-membership combination tends to make the most financial sense. A similar high-deductible-plus-membership logic applies for homeowners elsewhere in our service area who are on HSA-paired plans.
PPS is based in Sarasota and serves the Gulf Coast, including Siesta Key, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Palmer Ranch, Lido Key, and Venice.
By the Numbers
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Small Business Administration data, self-employed individuals and small business owners are disproportionately likely to carry high-deductible health plans compared to employees with employer-sponsored group coverage — a pattern that directly shapes demand for direct primary care nationally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I drop my health insurance entirely if I do direct primary care?
No — we’d recommend keeping insurance (even a high-deductible plan) for hospitalizations, specialists, and major medical costs. Direct primary care covers your primary physician relationship, not catastrophic risk.
Is this specifically good for self-employed people, or does it work for anyone?
It works for anyone, but the financial logic is especially clear for people already on high-deductible plans who weren’t getting much value from insurance for routine visits.
How is this different from just paying cash at a walk-in clinic each time?
A walk-in clinic is a one-off transaction with no ongoing relationship. Direct primary care membership means one dedicated physician who knows your history over time.
Can a small business offer this as a benefit to employees?
Some small businesses do explore this as an alternative or supplement to traditional group insurance — contact our office to discuss.
What if my business situation changes and I need to adjust or pause membership?
Contact our office to discuss your specific situation — membership terms and flexibility can vary, so it’s worth a direct conversation.
What happens if I need to see a specialist my high-deductible plan doesn't cover well?
Your PPS physician can help you think through specialist referrals and coordinate care, but the specialist visit itself would still be billed through your insurance plan separately.
Direct Primary Care Sarasota
Talk through whether this pairs well with your current plan — request current membership pricing and what’s included.