Care, Explained.

Direct Primary Care is a membership for your everyday healthcare. You pay a simple, flat monthly fee directly to your care team — and in return you get unhurried, unlimited primary care with no insurance middleman, no copays, and no per-visit fees. It restores the direct relationship between you and your provider.

No — and it's not a substitute for insurance. DPC covers your primary and preventive care. We recommend keeping a health insurance plan (or a health-sharing membership) to cover hospital stays, specialists, imaging, emergencies, and major costs beyond our services. Think of DPC as your front door to care, and insurance as your safety net for the big things.

Your DPC membership includes unlimited, unhurried visits (up to 45 minutes) — sick visits, preventive and wellness care, chronic-condition management, and prescription management — with no copays or deductibles, same or next-day sick visits, direct communication with your care team (no call centers), and telehealth Monday–Friday.

Birth center, midwifery, doula, and lactation services are offered separately and are not part of DPC membership.

Because time is the medicine. The rushed ten-minute visit is where trust breaks down and root causes get missed. Unhurried time lets us listen, understand your whole life — body, mind, and spirit — and actually get to the bottom of what's wrong. Your provider sets each visit's length by what it's for: a well visit — comprehensive, whole-person care — can run up to 45 minutes, while a sick visit is focused and shorter, and acute concerns are seen same or next day, in-office or by telehealth.

We've intentionally opted out of insurance and Medicare so we can focus on you instead of billing codes. You pay a straightforward monthly membership; we don't bill insurance for our services. This is what keeps our overhead low and your care unhurried.

DPC is for everyone — individuals, couples, families, seniors, students, and children. And no family is turned away for cost: income-based options and our Care Access Fund (funded by 10% of every membership) help make care accessible to all.

Yes — and this is new as of 2026. Under the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act (effective January 1, 2026), Direct Primary Care memberships are recognized as a qualified medical expense, so you can pay with pre-tax HSA or FSA funds — up to $150/month for an individual or $300/month for a family. Our rates fall under those caps, so most members can cover their entire membership pre-tax.

The law also confirms that a DPC membership no longer disqualifies you from contributing to your HSA, as long as you keep a qualifying high-deductible health plan.

General information, not tax advice — please confirm the details with your HSA administrator or a tax professional.

A midwife is a trained, credentialed maternity-care provider for pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Midwives provide clinical care, monitor you and your baby, and attend the birth. Our founder, Kristin Richards-Capp, is a Licensed Midwife (LM) and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) with two decades of experience.

CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) is the credential — issued through the North American Registry of Midwives — that specifically requires training and experience in out-of-hospital birth (home and birth center). LM (Licensed Midwife) is the license to practice midwifery in the State of Michigan. Together they mean expert, accountable, out-of-hospital maternity care for healthy, low-risk pregnancies.

A freestanding birth center is a home-like, midwife-led facility designed for healthy, low-risk births — private birth suites, birth tubs, and the comfort of home, paired with professional clinical care and equipment. It's not a hospital and not your home; it's a middle path built entirely around physiological birth, dignity, and family.

A hospital is built for high-risk and surgical care; a birth center is built for low-risk, physiological birth with minimal intervention. For healthy, low-risk pregnancies, accredited U.S. birth centers show much lower cesarean rates — about 6%, compared to roughly 26% in hospitals — with newborn outcomes comparable to low-risk hospital births. Birth centers offer more autonomy, privacy, and continuity of care; hospitals offer surgical and NICU capabilities if they're ever needed.

Source: National Birth Center Study II / American Association of Birth Centers. Figures apply to carefully screened, low-risk pregnancies.

For healthy, low-risk pregnancies, the evidence is reassuring. Accredited birth centers screen carefully throughout pregnancy, follow strict standards, and maintain hospital transfer protocols. In the largest U.S. study, 84% of families gave birth at the center, most transfers were non-emergency, and there were no maternal deaths. Safety comes from careful screening plus a clear plan for the rare times a higher level of care is needed.

Our birth center is being established and will pursue the standards of accredited freestanding birth centers.

Midwives are specifically trained to recognize when a pregnancy or labor needs a higher level of care — and we maintain relationships and transfer protocols with local hospitals. Most transfers are non-urgent (for example, a long labor where a mother wants an epidural). We plan ahead so that if a transfer is ever needed, it's smooth and safe.

Healthy individuals with low-risk, single, full-term, head-down pregnancies. Careful screening throughout your pregnancy helps determine the safest place for your birth — and if that changes, we help you plan accordingly.

A doula is a trained companion who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support before, during, and after birth. A doula does not provide medical care or deliver the baby — their job is to help you feel supported, informed, comforted, and never alone.

Simple version: your midwife is your clinical provider — she monitors you and your baby and catches the baby. Your doula is your continuous support — comfort, encouragement, advocacy, and steadiness through it all. They work as a team, and many families have both. And a doula for every mother who wants one is one of the commitments of our whole-person model.

Yes. Continuous doula support is associated with lower cesarean rates, fewer interventions, and more positive birth experiences (Cochrane review of ~16,000 births). It's one of the most effective, lowest-cost ways to improve outcomes — which is exactly why Michigan Medicaid now covers doula care.

We're a faith-based 501(c)(3) ministry, not a church — and no, you do not have to share our faith to be cared for. Our ethos says it best: "We do not serve our neighbors because they are Christian; we serve them because we are." All are welcome, and every person is treated with dignity.

Yes. Covenant Life Birth & Wellness Foundation is a registered IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Ten percent of every membership and service is automatically set aside into our Care Access Fund to provide free and subsidized care for families who couldn't otherwise afford it. The more our community joins, the more families we can serve — without depending on donations to keep the doors open.

We're a debt-free nonprofit built for stewardship. Ten percent of every gift funds free and subsidized care, and 100% of your donation reaches the mission — Zeffy covers the processing fees. Every dollar is handled with integrity by our volunteer board.