Oklahoma Reimagines Healthcare: A New Model For Trust on the ACA Marketplace

TULSA, OK – June 22, 2026 – In a move that could signal a fundamental shift in American healthcare, Oklahoma is poised to become a national proving ground for a more personal, relationship-centered model of medicine. A new partnership announced today between CommunityCare, the state's largest local health plan, and Mending, a healthcare technology firm, will integrate Direct Primary Care (DPC) into Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans for individuals and families starting January 1, 2027.

For years, the promise of the DPC model—where patients pay a flat monthly fee for unfettered access to their primary care doctor—has existed largely outside the complex architecture of traditional health insurance. This announcement changes that, building a technological and financial bridge between a grassroots healthcare movement and the established system. It’s an attempt to solve a core paradox of modern healthcare: how to use technology not to distance, but to bring patients and doctors closer together, rebuilding the public trust that has steadily eroded in a system often perceived as transactional and impersonal.

A New Blueprint for Primary Care

The partnership aims to weave the fabric of DPC into the state's ACA marketplace, offering Oklahomans a health plan that explicitly supports and includes this alternative model. Direct Primary Care strips away the typical fee-for-service billing and insurance complexities that bog down most doctor's offices. In its place is a simple, transparent subscription that typically covers the vast majority of primary care needs, from routine check-ups and chronic disease management to urgent concerns and direct communication with a physician via text or phone.

The benefits are well-documented. Patients experience longer, unhurried appointments, same-day or next-day access, and a continuous relationship with a doctor who knows their history intimately. For physicians, the model drastically reduces administrative overhead, allowing them to manage smaller patient panels—often 600 instead of 2,000—and escape the burnout that plagues the profession. One study noted a 48% reduction in clinician burnout for DPC physicians compared to their peers in traditional practices.

Until now, accessing this model often meant paying for a DPC membership out-of-pocket while also carrying a separate insurance plan for catastrophic events. By embedding DPC providers as an in-network option, CommunityCare is removing a significant barrier to entry.

"CommunityCare has always believed healthcare should feel local, personal, and connected to the people we serve," said Josiah Sutton, President and CEO of CommunityCare, in the announcement. "We have wanted to support Direct Primary Care because we believe it is one of the best models for delivering primary care... Through our partnership with Mending and its technology... we can now help bring that experience to more Oklahomans."

The Technology of Trust

Making this integration possible is the critical, yet largely invisible, work of Mending. The company, which began its life as an ACA insurance carrier named Taro Health, has strategically evolved. Today's announcement coincides with its pivot to becoming a pure technology and infrastructure provider through its "Mending Access" platform.

Instead of being the insurer, Mending now provides the digital plumbing that allows a large health plan like CommunityCare to seamlessly connect with a network of independent DPC practices. Its platform handles the complex data exchange, eligibility verification, and reporting required to make DPC legible to the broader benefits ecosystem, all while preserving the relationship-based model that makes it work.

"Mending was built around the belief that better healthcare starts with a better relationship between patients and their doctors," explained Jeff Yuan, co-founder of Mending. "Our technology has been designed for DPC practices from the beginning, and this partnership with CommunityCare is an important step toward making Direct Primary Care accessible to more patient populations."

This isn't just about software; it's about building a system that honors a different set of values. The traditional insurance model is built on transactions and codes. Mending’s challenge is to create a system that runs on the currency of trust and continuous care, translating the high-touch, personal nature of a DPC practice into a format that a large insurer can understand and support. If successful, it provides a scalable blueprint for other states and health plans to follow.

Reconnecting Patients and Physicians

The ultimate measure of this partnership will be its impact on the human beings within the system. For Oklahomans who have felt like just another number in a crowded waiting room, the prospect of a DPC-inclusive ACA plan is transformative. It represents an opportunity to have a true partner in their health—a physician with the time and incentive to focus on prevention and wellness, not just reacting to illness.

The DPC movement has been growing steadily, with the number of practices in the U.S. more than doubling between 2020 and 2026. Oklahoma itself has seen a surge, growing from a handful of DPC doctors in 2016 to nearly 150 today. This partnership provides a powerful tailwind for that growth, offering a stable and integrated path for more physicians to adopt the model and for more patients to access it.

For current Mending policyholders in Oklahoma, the company has stated they will be guided to appropriate CommunityCare plans to ensure their care with their DPC provider continues without interruption into 2027. More details on the new plan offerings, premiums, and participating DPC providers are expected to be released ahead of the fall Open Enrollment period.

By uniting a local, trusted insurer with a technology platform built to scale a human-centric model, this initiative represents more than just a new product offering. It is a sophisticated experiment in rewiring our healthcare infrastructure to prioritize the very thing it was meant to foster: the enduring, trusting relationship between a patient and their doctor.