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The Membership Fee Benchmark: What the Public Data Show, and What They Don't
Concierge medicine still has no public, methodology-disclosed fee benchmark. This brief sets out what is known about concierge fees, how to read the numbers, and why direct primary care's published average, from a different model, is not a stand-in.
Updated October 2026: evidence grades replaced with evidence types; funding disclosed on every source.
Start here: the questions this brief answers
Tap a question for the short answer, then jump to the evidence.
Concierge medicine has no public fee benchmark with a disclosed method. CMT's editorial estimate puts a typical concierge membership at roughly $3,000 a year, and many concierge practices also keep billing insurance. Direct primary care, a different model, does have a published average ($98.46 a month in a 2024 survey of 465 DPC practices), but it is not a concierge figure and should not be used as one. Fees should be compared only with panel size, services included and local market in view. This brief lays out what a credible fee index must report, and a calculator to test your own panel economics.
“Price isn't your problem. Clarity is. When a member can't explain what their membership buys in one sentence, every fee feels too high. When they can, almost none do.”
What is the average concierge fee?
There is no public, methodology-disclosed average. CMT's editorial estimate is roughly $3,000 a year, about the same as a GLP-1 subscription, but that is an estimate, not survey data.
Go to the full answer ↓Can I use the DPC average for concierge?
No. DPC averages $98.46 a month in one 2024 survey, but DPC is a different model that usually replaces insurance billing. Concierge fees usually sit on top of it.
Go to the full answer ↓Why compare fees with panel size?
Because fee alone is meaningless. A $2,400 fee with 600 members and a $1,200 fee with 1,200 members produce the same revenue but very different practices.
Go to the full answer ↓How should I set my own fee?
Start with the panel you can serve well, the services you include and your cost base. The calculator in Part 3 shows the trade-offs. It is a model, not advice.
Go to the full answer ↓The concierge gap
Concierge fees are quoted constantly, in news stories, practice marketing and conference talks. What is missing is a figure with a published method behind it.
Older academic work described the panel side of the equation: retainer physicians in a 2005 national survey cared for about 898 patients each, vs. 2,303 in traditional practice.1 The Health Affairs authors describe concierge fees as annual retainers that can run into thousands, or tens of thousands, of dollars, alongside continued insurance billing.2 Neither provides a usable average.
CMT's Editor-in-Chief frames the comparison this way: “Patients have already told the market what they're willing to pay for a health outcome. A GLP-1 subscription and a concierge medicine membership now cost about the same, roughly $3,000 a year. The question isn't whether patients will invest in their health. It's who earns that investment.”3 The $3,000 figure is an editorial estimate, not a survey result, and the CMT poll is an open online poll with unverified respondents. Because many concierge practices also bill insurance, a concierge fee is not comparable to a DPC fee that replaces insurance billing for primary care.
A handful of very high-fee practices can pull an average far above what a typical practice charges. Any future CMT fee benchmark would lead with medians and ranges, and report averages only alongside them.
DPC has a published benchmark, and it is not a concierge number
Direct primary care is a different model: it usually replaces insurance billing for primary care with a lower monthly fee. Its published fee data are shown here, walled off, so they are not mistaken for concierge figures.
These figures describe direct primary care (DPC), not concierge medicine. DPC usually operates outside insurance billing at lower monthly fees. They are shown here, separately, for context only and should not be read as concierge data.
The AAFP's 2024 data brief reported adult fees typically between $50 and $100 a month, children's fees between $20 and $49, and enrollment fees at 62% of practices.8 The DPC Alliance report also found more than 30% of respondents operated with no staff.9
Employer pricing sits lower. On Hint Health's platform, employer-sponsored DPC rates stayed in a $55 to $65 per member per month range for five years, and employers now fund 60% of active DPC memberships.10 Industry Research
Fee, panel and revenue: test the trade-offs
Fee benchmarks only make sense next to panel size and retention. Adjust the inputs to see how they interact. This is an illustrative model, not financial advice; it ignores insurance revenue, taxes and many costs.
Membership revenue model
Benchmark in context
Compare fees only with panel size, services and local market alongside.
Price from capacity
Start with the panel you can serve well, then the fee that sustains it.
Report honestly
Share your fee data with a methodology-disclosed index. Better data protects everyone's pricing conversations.
How this brief was built
CMT searched for published, methodology-disclosed fee data for concierge and DPC practices. The Direct Primary Care Alliance and the American Academy of Family Physicians published survey data with sample sizes; both are labeled Practice Insight (surveys by membership organizations). CMT found no comparable concierge dataset that disclosed sample size, recruitment and date. Commercial pricing guides and practice websites were excluded. Employer pricing comes from Hint Health platform data (company-reported).
How to read the evidence types
Every key finding is labeled by evidence type. Labels describe the type of evidence, not its value. Each type answers different questions. Funding is disclosed on every source.
Randomized trials and systematic reviews.Best for cause and effect.
Large observational studies and government data.Best for trends at scale.
Surveys, smaller studies and expert consensus.Best for real-world experience.
Company-sponsored or company-reported data that is not peer-reviewed.Best for early signals and operating data.
Statutes, regulation and official guidance.Best for what is required.
What we don't know
- Median and range of concierge fees nationally and by region, specialty and panel size.
- How often practices raise fees and by how much, and the effect on renewal.
- Share of revenue from membership fees vs. insurance in hybrid concierge practices.
How to cite this brief
External review: this brief has not yet been reviewed by an outside expert. When review is complete, the reviewer is credited by name above with any conflicts of interest, and the version number is updated. Reviewers check accuracy and fairness; CMT is responsible for the final content.
Corrections policy: when an error is identified, CMT corrects it in the open and updates the version number above. Send corrections to the editor through conciergemedicinetoday.net.
Related CMT Research Briefs
References
- Alexander GC, Kurlander J, Wynia MK. Physicians in retainer ("concierge") practice: a national survey of physician, patient, and practice characteristics. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2005;20(12):1079-1083. pure.johnshopkins.eduFunding: mixed: professional society (AMA Institute for Ethics), foundation (Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program) and academic (MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics)
- Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Fee-based primary care is rapidly rising in U.S., hastening doctor shortages for the public. December 2025. carey.jhu.eduFunding: not stated (university news release)
- Concierge Medicine Today. Media Desk: quotes from the Editor-in-Chief, FAQs and data. Accessed October 2026. conciergemedicinetoday.netFunding: Concierge Medicine Today (self-published; no outside funder) CMT original
- MDVIP. MDVIP celebrates its momentum: 100 consecutive quarters of growth milestone and new Boca Raton HQ (press release). February 4, 2026. mdvip.comFunding: industry (MDVIP press release)
- MDVIP. How MDVIP is different from other concierge medicine (company website). Accessed October 2026. www.mdvip.comFunding: industry (MDVIP company website)
- Concierge Medicine Today, LLC. Poll: Does your concierge medicine office accept and/or bill insurance and/or Medicare? 97 votes, through February 2020. Open online poll (CrowdSignal). Not representative; respondents not verified.Funding: Concierge Medicine Today (self-conducted; no outside funder) CMT original
- Direct Primary Care Alliance. State of Direct Primary Care report (2024 survey, 465 respondents), as reported by Medical Economics, July 29, 2026. www.medicaleconomics.comFunding: not stated (conducted and published by the Direct Primary Care Alliance)
- American Academy of Family Physicians. Direct Primary Care 2024 Data Brief (374 surveys; 177 DPC respondents). www.aafp.orgFunding: not stated (conducted and published by the American Academy of Family Physicians)
- DPC News. State of Direct Primary Care report reveals new reality of America's growing physician-led healthcare movement. August 17, 2026. dpcnews.comFunding: not stated (sponsored post placed by the Direct Primary Care Alliance)
- Hint Health. Hint Health releases 2026 Direct Primary Care Trends Report (platform data from 2,700+ DPC clinicians and 1.4 million members). Press release via Cision. April 23, 2026. digital-release.nwahomepage.comFunding: industry (Hint Health; company-reported platform data)
Educational and informational only. This CMT Research Brief does not constitute medical, legal, tax, financial, accounting or other professional advice, and it does not create a professional relationship of any kind. Statements about laws, regulations, tax rules and payer policies are general, may not reflect the rules in your state, and can change after publication. Consult a qualified attorney, accountant, tax adviser, compliance professional or licensed clinician before acting on anything here.
Independence. Concierge Medicine Today is an independent publication. It does not accept payment for favorable coverage, and it does not favor one practice model over another. Company names and products are mentioned for context only and are not endorsements. Funding is disclosed for every source in the reference list.
Accuracy. CMT verifies figures against their original or best available sources at the time of publication. Where a figure is an estimate, an inference or a company-reported number, the brief says so. This content is not without possible error or omission.
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