DPC Employer Pilots: Show What Is Working

A useful employer DPC pilot shows who enrolled, whether people could get care, and what the arrangement cost. Agree on those measures before launch. Treat lower total healthcare spending as a separate question requiring stronger evidence.

I would rather walk into an employer review with a few numbers I can explain than a savings percentage I cannot defend. The useful conversation is specific: Are people joining? Can they get the care the agreement describes? What needs to improve?

That is a good conversation for a physician-owned practice to be prepared to have.

Why does the cost conversation matter now?

KFF's 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, published October 22, reports average annual family premiums of $28,303, up 5% from 2025. Covered workers contributed $7,471 on average toward family coverage.

Those are employer-sponsored insurance findings, not DPC prices or evidence of DPC savings. The survey covers private and nonfederal public employers with at least ten workers; it does not describe every small business.

My takeaway is straightforward: bring a clear explanation of what the practice can deliver and how it will be evaluated. A national premium figure cannot substitute for an employer's own baseline.

What should a DPC practice measure first?

Start with the question the employer and practice want the pilot to answer. If the immediate problem is access, make access visible. If enrollment is weak, understand that before drawing conclusions about the care model.

Here is the starting scorecard I would adapt with the practice and employer. These are proposed operating measures, not a validated assessment or promised contract deliverables.

Give each measure an owner and a source. A scheduling record, membership ledger, and feedback response answer different questions. Keep the reporting period and the population definitions consistent so the next review is comparable.

For pricing, scope, and agreement structure, use our physician guide to employer DPC contracting. This scorecard addresses evaluation after the arrangement is defined, not the full contracting process.

When can you make a savings claim?

Only when the evidence supports the claim being made. A count of DPC visits does not show how many emergency visits were avoided. A lower claims total after launch does not, by itself, establish that DPC caused the change.

The CMS evaluation overview describes using a comparison group and allowing time for finalized claims data. It also emphasizes having enough patients and providers to measure differences convincingly. This is methodology from CMS model evaluations, not a DPC outcomes study or a requirement to copy its model design.

For a financial-impact analysis, involve an evaluator who can assess the baseline, comparison approach, population changes, claims completeness, and the full cost of the arrangement. If the available data cannot answer the question, say so. You can still report what was delivered and what patients experienced.

Do not label a favorable comment, estimated avoided visit, or national cost benchmark as realized savings. Keeping those distinctions clear protects the value of the results you do have.

How should results be shared with an employer?

Plan the employer report around appropriate aggregate measures, not patient stories with identifying details. Have qualified privacy advisers confirm the reporting basis, recipients, access, and any small-group disclosure risks before sharing results.

The HHS de-identification guidance describes specific standards for HIPAA-regulated information. Removing names alone is not the same as completing that process. The pilot scorecard is not authorization to disclose health information.

What belongs in the renewal conversation?

I would close the review with three things: what the team delivered, what needs attention, and what remains unmeasured. Agree on the changes and the next review date. Keep clinical decisions with the physician.

Freedom Healthworks' documented operating support includes panel, enrollment, revenue, and operating dashboards, with responsibilities set by tier and agreement. Employer work needs its own confirmed scope. That support is not an actuarial evaluation or a promise of lower claims spending.

If you need help organizing the operating side of an employer arrangement, request a practice consultation with the population, service scope, reporting expectations, and unresolved responsibilities you want to discuss.

Informational operating guidance, not legal, benefits, actuarial, medical, or individualized financial advice. The scorecard is an editorial planning aid, not a validated instrument or evidence that any particular pilot will succeed. Sources checked November 10, 2026.