Corunna Public Schools and two neighboring Michigan districts have partnered with Plum Health, a Detroit-based direct primary care provider, to establish clinics offering free medical services to employees and their families. The arrangement eliminates copays, deductibles, and prescription costs for patients while the districts pay $90 monthly per employee for access to the clinic. Direct primary care represents a growing alternative to conventional insurance that establishes a direct financial relationship between patients and providers.
The districts implemented this model based on the premise that accessible primary care will reduce costly emergency room and urgent care visits. School administrators estimate that preventive care delivered through the clinic could avoid numerous expensive ER visits annually. Conventional insurance typically covers only emergency, urgent, and hospitalization expenses, leaving gaps in primary care access. By contrast, the direct primary care model provides same-day or next-day appointments scheduled for at least 30 minutes, compared to typical network physicians who schedule shorter appointments and carry significantly larger patient loads.
Direct primary care operates outside the traditional insurance framework, representing an alternative for individuals and employers facing escalating health costs. Recent data indicates that over 131,000 Michiganders dropped federal marketplace insurance this year, while more than 80,000 beneficiaries have departed the state’s Medicaid program. National projections indicate employer health care costs will increase approximately 9.5% next year, with worker costs rising nearly 8% on average. Direct primary care physicians argue their model reduces administrative burdens and allows more comprehensive patient attention than insurance-dependent practices.
Plum Health operates multiple sites charging patients $95 monthly for round-the-clock family medicine access. The model relies on smaller patient panels, with direct primary care physicians serving approximately 400 patients compared to the average network physician’s 2,500 patients. By eliminating insurance billing personnel and administrative overhead, clinics can maintain lower operational costs. The arrangement provides school districts with an additional recruitment and retention tool for educators while addressing workforce shortages through enhanced employee benefits.
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