For individuals, families, and small business owners
Your insurance and your health care are not the same thing
Most people shopping the marketplace this fall are comparing premiums and deductibles without a clear picture of what any of it does for them in an ordinary year. We laid the two side by side so you can see what each one is actually built to do, and why most of our members end up keeping both.
Winner, Best PCP Alternative in Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville 2026
A marketplace plan
Built for the rare, expensive moments
- Hospital stays and surgery
- Emergency care
- Serious diagnoses and specialist care
An MHC membership
Built to keep you healthy before anything goes wrong
- Advanced preventive bloodwork that catches changes early
- A doctor-led plan built around your biology and goals
- A provider who knows you and advocates for you
- Personalized wellness services offered at cost
Your car insurance doesn’t pay for oil changes either
Nobody expects their car insurance to cover an oil change, a tank of gas, new tires, or a car wash, because everyone understands it exists for the accident you hope never happens. Health insurance works the same way, and the routine maintenance that keeps you running well has always been left to you, which is exactly the part we focus on.
An MHC membership
Built for proactive health and optimization
Routine maintenance
Regular checkups and advanced preventive bloodwork, so small changes get noticed while they are still easy to address.
Before you have a symptom
Shifts in blood sugar, kidney function, inflammation, and cortisol often show up years before symptoms do, and that is when we want to catch them.
Relationship-based care
The same provider who knows your history and advocates for you, the way a good mechanic knows your car.
Personalized wellness at cost
A full suite of wellness services, from massage to IV hydration and InBody scans, offered at cost and overseen by your doctor.
Traditional Insurance
$9,800+
Annual Total Cost
Wait Times
vs
Members Health Co
$3,063
Annual Total Cost
Wait Times
What each one actually does for you
A marketplace plan and a membership answer different questions, which is why comparing them on monthly price alone tends to mislead people. Here is how they line up on the things that come up most often.
| What you’re comparing | Marketplace plan | MHC membership |
|---|---|---|
| What it’s built for | Absorbing the cost of a hospital stay, a surgery, or a serious diagnosis | Keeping you well week to week, and getting you seen quickly when something comes up |
| What it costs each month | Depends on your age, income, and plan, and full-price premiums in Tennessee are going up again for 2027 | A flat membership fee starting at $189, with no deductible to meet before we see you |
| Before it helps with a sick visit | Many bronze and catastrophic plans have you pay the full cost of visits until you reach a deductible that is often $7,500 or more, though some plans include office-visit copays | Nothing to meet first, so coming in during the first week of January works the same as the last week of December |
| Getting in to see someone | Finding an in-network doctor who is accepting new patients, then taking the next opening they have | Your own provider, who cares for no more than 300 members, at one of our three Nashville locations |
| Time with your provider | Varies by practice, and visits billed through insurance are often brief | Unhurried visits with real time to talk something through before it turns into a problem |
| Labs and prescriptions | Billed through your plan, and often counted toward your deductible first | Transparent, wholesale pricing, with results read in context by someone who knows your history |
| ER visits, hospital stays, and surgery | Covered after your deductible, up to your plan’s out-of-pocket maximum | Not covered, which is exactly why we tell every member to keep insurance |
| Specialists and imaging | Covered in network, usually after your deductible | We coordinate your referrals, and imaging is available at transparent cash prices that are often lower than paying toward a deductible |
| Wellness services | Generally not covered | A full suite of wellness services offered to members at cost |
Marketplace plans vary a lot, so check the deductible, copays, and network on any plan you’re considering before you enroll, or let our insurance partner walk through your quotes with you.
Keep your insurance, and let it do the job it was built for
Since a membership takes care of your everyday health, a lot of our members find they no longer need a more expensive marketplace plan to soften the cost of routine visits. Pairing it with a lower-premium catastrophic plan keeps you protected for the big events, and for many people the combined cost is less than half the cost of marketplace insurance.
MHC membership
From $189 a month
Proactive, everyday care with your own provider and no deductible
Catastrophic plan
As low as $100 a month
Coverage for the big things, like surgery, trauma, and cancer care
What you end up with
Care and coverage
Someone who knows you for the ordinary weeks, and insurance standing behind you for the rare ones
$5,000+ in annual savings compared with a more expensive marketplace plan
Figures shown are illustrative estimates. Actual rates and coverage may vary.
If you’d like to see what a catastrophic plan would actually cost you, schedule a call with Luke, our local insurance partner, and he’ll walk you through your options.
One flat monthly price, with nothing to meet first
Standard
$189 / month
Standard+
$228 / month
Premium
$379 / month
Couples save 10%, kids can join for $40 a month, and we’ll walk you through what each tier includes during your free consultation.
Own a business? Here’s how this works for you.
Whether it’s just you or a growing team, there’s a simple way to get better care for less.
Covering yourself
Self-employed or a founder
Pair a membership with a low-cost catastrophic plan. You get everyday care from your own provider and protection for emergencies. Memberships are also tax-deductible for the self-employed.*
Covering your team
Give your employees care they’ll actually use
Employer memberships give your team their own provider, fast access, and at-cost services. Many employers keep their current insurance and add a membership on top. Group discounts are available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you take insurance?
We do not bill insurance since it is not designed for prevention and does not cover proactive care. Your membership is paid directly to your physician, allowing us to remove administrative waste, avoid inflated pricing, and deliver a level of access and attention that traditional insurance-based clinics cannot provide. All services are HSA/FSA-eligible or tax-deductible for self-employed.*
What if I already have insurance?
Insurance is designed to cover major, unexpected events. Our model is the complement that insurance has never offered: proactive, physician-led prevention that keeps you healthy long before problems arise. Ultimately, insurance is a policy and is not the same as having your own personal doctor readily available to advocate for your needs and ensure you always get the highest quality, best prices, and fastest access.
What if I am already healthy?
Being healthy and feeling healthy are not always the same. Subtle changes in blood sugar, kidney function, inflammation, and cortisol often emerge years before symptoms appear. When identified early, these issues are easy to address with targeted lifestyle and performance strategies. When identified late, they become far more complex. Our role is to detect these changes early and guide you with physician-led strategies that support performance, longevity, and long-term vitality. All wellness services are offered at-cost and overseen by your doctor to ensure precision, safety, and meaningful results.
Do I still need insurance?
We recommend maintaining a catastrophic insurance plan for true emergencies, major surgeries, or unexpected illnesses. These plans typically cost $80-$150/month. Our members see a 95% reduction in urgent care and ER utilization compared to traditional primary care, which means insurance is used far less often. When paired with our membership, this approach is significantly more affordable than marketplace insurance and provides both emergency protection and a dedicated physician to advocate for you whenever you need support.
Is this concierge medicine?
Not exactly. Concierge practices often charge $8,000-$10,000+ per year and primarily serve older patients with complex medical needs, with limited focus on prevention or comprehensive wellness. Our model is different. We deliver a higher standard of proactive, relationship-driven, physician-led care at a fraction of the cost, making personalized health optimization accessible to people who want to maximize their long-term health and performance.
*Consult with your tax advisor
Not sure which setup makes sense for you?
If you are weighing your options before open enrollment, we are glad to walk through the numbers with you, and we can connect you with our insurance partner so you can see both sides clearly before you decide.
The Nations, Wedgewood-Houston, and East Nashville