Thriving Practice with Tracy Cherpeski

18 Years in the Insurance System, Then She Built Something Better: Dr. Samantha Mekrut on DPC and Women’s Midlife Health, EP 250

April 15, 2026·41 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

After more than 18 years in insurance-based healthcare, Dr. Samantha Mekrut made a decision a lot of physicians dream about: she left to build something better. The result is Meristem Family Medicine — a direct primary care practice in Medfield, Massachusetts, where patients pay a flat monthly membership fee, appointments run 30 to 60 minutes, and the administrative machinery of insurance billing is nowhere to be found.  See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment  Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.  In this episode, Tracy sits down with Dr. Mekrut to unpack the real difference between direct primary care and concierge medicine, what it actually takes to make an affordable membership model work, and why eliminating insurance billing overhead is the key that makes it possible.  They also get into Dr. Mekrut’s specialty: menopause care for women in midlife. From the flawed rollout of the Women’s Health Initiative study to the community library talks she hosts to educate patients without selling them anything, Dr. Mekrut is approaching women’s health the way more of us wish the system would.  See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment  Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways.  Connect With Us:  Be a Guest on the Show  Thriving Practice Community  Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy  Tracy’s LinkedIn  Business LinkedIn Page

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