New Online Hub Maps Montana’s Growing Direct Patient Care Network

HELENA, Mont. – The Frontier Institute has launched a new online portal designed to help Montanans navigate the state’s expanding free market healthcare options, following what it calls “one of the most dramatic expansions of healthcare access in recent memory.”

The Free Market Healthcare Hub, which the libertarian think tank has been promoting widely on social media, provides an interactive map showing a growing list of 32 verified Direct Patient Care (DPC) clinics operating throughout Montana. Since its launch, hundreds of Montanans have already used the portal, according to Tanner Avery, Director of The Center for New Frontiers at the Frontier Institute.

Direct Patient Care clinics operate on a membership model, with patients paying monthly or annual fees directly to physicians rather than working through traditional insurance networks. The portal also connects users to other healthcare providers that embrace price transparency and free market principles.

“Our government dominated healthcare system is a mess,” said Frontier Institute President and CEO Kendall Cotton. “The answer is not more government, it’s getting government out of the way and embracing free market principles once again. Our Free Market Healthcare Hub helps Montanans explore the rapidly growing market for free market healthcare options.”

The initiative builds on healthcare reforms passed by Governor Greg Gianforte and the 2021 Montana Legislature, which positioned the state as what the Institute describes as “a leader in free market healthcare.” The reforms stem from SB 101, sponsored by Senator Cary Smith of Billings, which permanently authorized Direct Primary Care in Montana.

“Improving health outcomes (and thus lowering costs) starts with a genuine relationship between a patient and a primary care provider,” said Dr. Cara Harrop of Purehealth DPC in Polson during the 2021 legislative debate. “Direct primary care is a sustainable model for both patients and providers to spend their energy and resources on actually changing behaviors that affect health outcomes.” The Institute reports that most DPC patients discover these services through referrals from existing patients who share “overwhelmingly positive feedback” about their experiences.

Cotton said the Institute’s goal is to help Montanans “opt-out of the government dominated third party healthcare system and take control of their own family’s healthcare decisions,” potentially saving money while accessing what he describes as better quality care.

The Institute plans to continue expanding the Hub’s resources, potentially incorporating other types of providers who embrace price transparency within the Direct Patient Care model.

The Frontier Institute’s social media push for the portal comes as healthcare costs and access continue to be major concerns for Montana families, particularly in rural areas where provider shortages remain a persistent challenge. The Institute encourages healthcare providers or patients who know of additional price-transparent resources to contact them at [email protected].