![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_4533.jpeg\")
Colleen Winship and her family. Credit: Provided photo\/Claire Winship<\/p>\nAfter Colleen Winship had her first baby two years ago, she noticed his breathing was irregular.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old eastsider tried calling the family doctor about the symptoms but couldn\u2019t get through. Eventually, she drove her son to the ER.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a scared new mom,\u201d Winship said. \u201cIt was the first time he was sick, and I was home by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colleen Winship and her family. Credit: Provided photo\/Claire Winship<\/p>\n
At the hospital, doctors evaluated her baby. They determined his breathing was normal and showed her an educational video about emergency symptoms. The bill came a few months later.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many people you have to talk to before you finally get a doctor,\u201d Winship told Mirror Indy. \u201cYou feel like a number more than a genuine patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why she started going to a direct primary care<\/a> practice. This model, growing throughout Indianapolis, allows people to pay a monthly fee for unlimited doctors\u2019 visits \u2014 no insurance involved. Patients say it gives them more access to physicians and eliminates stressful scheduling and wait times.<\/p>\n Now, if Winship has questions or concerns, she texts or calls Dr. Sarah Bosslet, the founder of Traders Point Pediatrics<\/a>. The doctor on the northwest side also has same-day appointments.<\/p>\n Bosslet left Riley Children\u2019s Health to start her own practice in February 2025. She went from seeing 2,000 patients to just 120.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I don\u2019t feel rushed,\u201d Bosslet said. \u201cI know my families better. I don\u2019t leave here at the end of the day completely exhausted from trying to get people through the door.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Like paying for Netflix\u2019<\/p>\n Bosslet\u2019s office is colorful, with toys scattered in the waiting room. In the single exam room, a drawer is full of dinosaur, unicorn and pickle bandages. Here, the doctor performs every role: scheduling, check-ups, lab work and cleaning the bathroom.<\/p>\n \u201cI coach families through things so they don\u2019t have to go to urgent care or the ER,\u201d Bosslet said. \u201cWe can do a lot in primary care and it\u2019s more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n For newborns, she charges about $150 a month for home visits \u2014 something insurance doesn\u2019t always cover. After a child turns 2, the cost goes down to $100 per month for unlimited visits. Older teenagers can get in for $80.<\/p>\n Bosslet acknowledges that some families can\u2019t afford the monthly payments. In some cases, she reduces the fees to help patients. Others rely on her practice for primary care and take out a catastrophic insurance plan<\/a> to cover emergencies.<\/p>\n \u201cI got a lot of calls earlier this year from people trying to figure out insurance,\u201d Bosslet said. \u201cThe Marketplace has gotten so expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n Thousands of Hoosiers on the Affordable Care Act \u2014 which covers people who don\u2019t have health insurance through an employer or government programs \u2014 are seeing spiking premiums. That\u2019s because Congress failed to extend subsidies<\/a> that helped people afford plans.<\/p>\n Bosslet said practices like hers could fill the gaps.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like paying for a monthly Netflix subscription,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t spend all that time justifying our care to insurance companies.\u201d<\/p>\n About 10 direct primary care practices in Indianapolis are included in a nationwide map<\/a>, though many more are cropping up. Dr. Laurel Fick opened an adult primary care practice<\/a> attached to the side of a gym on Meridian Street.<\/p>\n \u201cIn corporate health care, the quality has gone down,\u201d said the physician, who previously worked at Ascension St. Vincent. \u201cNot because doctors are less capable or don\u2019t care, but because they are being forced to do more with less resources.\u201d<\/p>\n She recently saw a patient who wasn\u2019t properly diagnosed with osteoporosis when they got care at a major health system.<\/p>\n \u201cThey missed it,\u201d Fick said. \u201cWhen these long-term problems are untreated, it adds more costs to our health system and harms the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, Fick spends about an hour with new patients. They talk about nutrition, exercise, sleep and lifestyle habits. Questions are asked, concerns heard.<\/p>\n She no longer feels like a cog in the machine.<\/p>\n Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations<\/a> from individuals, foundations and organizations.<\/p>\n Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org<\/a>. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n Local news delivered straight to your inbox<\/p>\n Mirror Indy’s free newsletters are your daily dose of community-focused news stories.<\/p>\n By clicking Sign Up, you\u2019re confirming that you agree with our Terms of Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DIRECT-PRIMARY-CARE_SA005-1.jpg\")
Unique Band-Aids seen Jan. 23, 2026, inside a medical drawer inside an exam room at Traders Point Pediatrics in Indianapolis. Credit: Stephanie Amador for Mirror Indy<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DIRECT-PRIMARY-CARE_SA002-1.jpg\")
Dr. Sarah Bosslet, a pediatrician at Traders Point Pediatrics in Indianapolis, talks about her primary care system where patients pay a monthly flat fee for unlimited doctor\u2019s visit, Jan. 23, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Amador for Mirror Indy<\/p>\n![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753219688_593_cc-by-nd-4.0.png\"\/)
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