A monthly membership for the doctor's office:

Petersburg Medical Center is testing a different way to pay for a trip to the doctor: a flat monthly fee, no copays, and as many primary care visits as a patient needs.

The hospital has gone live with a direct primary care plan - a subscription model CEO Phil Hofstetter described to the borough assembly this month as a way to make routine care more affordable and to reach residents who are uninsured, underinsured or carrying high deductibles.

"It's a subscription-based primary care model, and it's available to community," Hofstetter said. "It's unlimited number of primary care visits."

Members...