What we have done, and how we count it
Our work has one goal. We help uninsured and underinsured people find an affordable regular doctor, so they can stay healthy and small problems do not turn into emergencies. A regular doctor makes better health outcomes possible. We want funders to trust our numbers, so this page explains where each one comes from and what it does not show.
A few terms first. A cash-pay doctor is a doctor you can pay yourself, without going through insurance. Direct primary care means you pay your doctor a flat monthly fee for everyday care. Concierge doctors also charge a membership fee, and many of them still bill insurance.
Our results
The directory ran under FindMyDirectDoctor, LLC from 2020 until the Foundation was formed in 2026. These results cover that whole period.
How big the directory is
Our directory lists about 20,000 cash-pay doctors, including direct primary care and concierge practices. It is the largest directory of its kind in the country. Earlier estimates put the number of direct primary care and concierge doctors in the US at about 15,000. Our count is higher because it also includes other doctors who take cash payment. So we do not claim to list more direct primary care and concierge doctors than exist.
How we count a patient connection
We count a patient as connected when we see one of these four signs:
The patient sends a message to a doctor through the Message button on that doctor's directory profile.
The patient tells us through our contact form that they found their doctor through the directory.
A doctor tells us they found a patient through the directory.
A doctor tells us that a patient said they found the practice through the directory and joined.
What our numbers do not show
We can only count the connections we can see. Some patients find a doctor through the directory and never tell anyone, so the real number may be higher. A message to a doctor also does not prove that the patient became a regular patient. We do not track the health of individual patients, and we do not ask for medical information. So we do not report health outcomes. We report connections, because a connection to a regular doctor is what makes staying healthy possible.
Our numbers also cover only one part of the problem. The directory helps people who can pay a modest amount for care and who can get to a doctor's office, and it does not solve other barriers, such as transportation.
How we compare
It costs us $149 per patient connected. The federal Navigator program, which helps people enroll in health insurance, spent $1,061 per enrollment in plan year 2024. The two programs do different jobs. Navigators help people get coverage, and we help people find a doctor. We show the comparison as a sense of scale, not to claim that one replaces the other.
What "modeled" means
The $157 to $309 figure is an estimate from our own cost model. It is not a measured result. It reflects the costs that can be avoided when a person has a regular, affordable doctor instead of waiting until a problem becomes an emergency. For context, an average emergency room visit cost about $2,863 in 2026, across all types of insurance.
Request the Impact Verification Report
Funders, program officers and reviewers can request the full report and its five exhibits. We review each request and email the package to you.
Request the reportWhat funders get from us
When a funder supports work in a specific area, we report back on what we can measure there. That includes the number of doctors listed in the area, directory searches from the area, and the connections we can trace to it. We tell funders up front which of these we can measure for their area, and we do not promise numbers our data cannot show.
Let's talk
Do you work on health access or the cost of care for a county, a state, a hospital or a foundation? Do you want to partner with us? We would like to hear from you.
Talk with us