As a broker, you know that corporate clients rely on your advice to navigate rising healthcare premiums. Modern employers want innovative options that control health plan spending while offering real value to their employees. Direct Primary Care (DPC) has quickly become one of the most effective strategies to reach that balance.
When you pair DPC with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), you unlock an even stronger benefit structure that eliminates cost friction and simplifies administration for your clients
Why Employers Are Exploring Direct Primary Care
Employers want to give their workforce quick, low-barrier access to quality healthcare to keep employees healthy and productive. According to Accresa’s 2026 Subscription Care Benchmark Report, more than half of surveyed organizations expressed interest in a membership-based primary care solution.
The benchmark report also highlights that business leaders recognize the hidden costs of delayed care. When workers face long wait times or limited appointment availability, they often skip preventive visits altogether. That frustration leads to higher absenteeism, lower productivity, and eventual high-dollar medical claims. DPC solves these issues by restoring direct access to doctors for a flat monthly fee.
How Pairing an HRA and DPC Removes Common Employer Objections
Even when employers see the clear value of DPC, they often hesitate to move forward. They worry about layering a new subscription fee on top of their existing health plans or adding extra paperwork for their HR departments.
Pairing an HRA and DPC eliminates these concerns:
- No Double-Paying for Care: An HRA is an employer-funded, tax-free account used for eligible medical expenses. Because fixed DPC membership fees qualify as eligible HRA expenses, employers can fund membership fees using pre-tax dollars. This approach gives employers full control over their contribution levels without inflating overall benefit budgets.
- Strict IRS and Regulatory Compliance: Employers sometimes worry about tax implications or IRS rules surrounding subscription care. A structured HRA creates a compliant, audit-ready payment framework that satisfies IRS substantiation requirements.
- Zero Administrative Burden: Instead of HR teams managing multiple invoices from different local clinics, a paired HRA and DPC framework streamlines everything into a single, automated process.
Real-World Proof: The SALTA DPC and HRA Success Story
The power of combining DPC with an HRA is provable by real-world data. SALTA Direct Primary Care partnered with Ameriflex to offer an HRA-backed DPC solution, connected through Accresa’s software platform. The multi-year results of this partnership show remarkable financial and clinical outcomes:
- 2.2x Return on Investment: Over five years, the program generated $13.84M in cumulative savings for employers.
- Predictable Cost Trends: The program held annual healthcare cost growth to just 0.9%, compared to the 6.2% industry average for similar groups.
- Dramatic Reduction in High-Cost Care: The DPC model cut emergency room visits by 31% and dropped inpatient hospital stays by 71%.
- Lower ER Return Rates: SALTA clinic users had an ER return rate of just 23%, compared to 42% for traditional care groups.
- Significant Net Savings: The program delivered $2.9M in net annual savings per 1,000 lives after covering all program costs
These numbers demonstrate that proactive, accessible primary care drastically reduces expensive hospital visits while saving employers millions.
How Accresa Simplifies HRA and DPC Integration
Bringing an HRA and DPC together requires a platform capable of handling complex financial flows. Accresa serves as the essential bridge that connects employers, HRA administrators, and provider networks.
Accresa makes this integration effortless through several key features:
- Patented Payment Technology: Accresa holds a patent for healthcare payment orchestration software that automates many-to-many payments. The platform pools funds and allocates accurate monthly payouts across doctors, clinics, brokers, and administrators behind the scenes.
- Consolidated Billing: Accresa combines multiple provider fees across geographically distributed workforces into one simple monthly invoice for employer HR teams.
- Enterprise Security and Compliance: Built-in audit trails fulfill IRS substantiation rules.
Help Your Clients Build a Better Benefits Strategy
Combining DPC with an HRA allows your clients to deliver exceptional healthcare access, lower high-cost claims, and maintain predictable benefits spending.
Accresa provides the backend infrastructure that brings these models to life with zero administrative friction for employers or brokers. Our sister company, Ameriflex, can also administer an HRA for your organization the way it did for SALTA.
Ready to expand your portfolio with innovative subscription care options? Contact Accresa today to learn how our platform serves as a seamless bridge between employers and subscription care services.
