We Called 19 Austin Primary Care Clinics to Find Out Who Is Actually Taking New Patients
Zocdoc says they're open. We dialed every number. Here's what we found: wait times, cash-pay costs, sliding-scale options, and the ZIP codes where your options are nearly zero.
Zocdoc says they’re open. We dialed every number. Here’s what we found: wait times, cash-pay costs, sliding-scale options, and the ZIP codes where your options are nearly zero.
Every fall, Austin residents start the same search. UT students need a doctor who isn’t the student health center. Families who moved over the summer to get into a particular school district are trying to transfer prescriptions before the kids get sick. People who changed insurance plans are discovering their old doctor isn’t in-network anymore. And people who let a chronic condition drift through the summer — untreated high blood pressure, unmanaged diabetes, a mental health prescription running low — are suddenly in a hurry.
They all do the same thing: open Zocdoc or Healthgrades, search “primary care Austin,” and start clicking. The listings say “accepting new patients.” They book an appointment. Then the clinic calls back and says the doctor’s panel is actually closed, or the soonest slot is four months out, or the practice doesn’t take the insurance the listing implies it does.
We decided to skip the aggregators and do what a reporter is supposed to do: pick up the phone.
Over two weeks in late summer, we called 19 Austin primary care clinics — private practices, CommUnityCare federally qualified health centers, People’s Community Clinic, and one direct primary care membership practice. We asked the front desk the same four questions: Are you taking new patients? What’s the earliest available appointment? Do you accept walk-ins? What does a first visit cost without insurance? We recorded what the person who actually answered the phone actually said. Where the phone answer differed from what Zocdoc or a hospital system’s “find a doctor” portal showed, we flagged it.
What we found is useful and, in parts, genuinely alarming.
Which Austin Primary Care Clinics Are Actually Taking New Patients Right Now
Below is every practice we called, organized by neighborhood cluster, with the answers we got on the date of the call. We’ve noted where aggregator listings were inaccurate at the time of our call.
One caveat worth stating plainly: panel availability changes week to week. A clinic confirmed open today may close its panel by the time you read this. Call before you make any decisions based on this list. The relative picture — which areas are strained, which clinic types have shorter waits, which ZIP codes are effectively deserts — changes slowly and will stay accurate through the fall.
East Austin
CommUnityCare East — 211 Comal St. (78702)
Taking new patients. Earliest new-patient appointment: about 3 weeks out. Walk-ins accepted for same-day sick visits; establishing as a primary care patient requires a scheduled appointment. Sliding-scale fees apply. Zocdoc listed immediate availability. The phone said otherwise — a pattern you’ll notice repeating.
CommUnityCare Rosewood-Zaragosa — 2800 Webberville Rd. (78702)
Taking new patients. Earliest available: 4 weeks. No walk-in primary care, though the attached pharmacy and some same-day services are available. Sliding-scale applies. Spanish-speaking staff confirmed available at this location, which matters in a neighborhood where that’s not a small thing.
People’s Community Clinic — 1101 Camino La Costa (78752)
Taking new patients. Earliest new-patient appointment at time of call: about 5 weeks out. This clinic is one of Austin’s most important safety-net providers and receives far less local coverage than it warrants. If you’ve never heard of it, that’s part of the problem. No walk-in primary care. Sliding-scale fee schedule applies independently of CommUnityCare.
A private internal medicine group on Airport Blvd. (78752) — listed on Zocdoc as “accepting new patients”
Phone answer: “We’re not taking new patients right now. We haven’t updated that in a while.” No estimated reopening date. That explanation is not good enough when someone is trying to get a prescription refilled.
South Austin
CommUnityCare South Austin — 2529 S. First St. (78704)
Taking new patients with a 3-to-4-week wait. Walk-in sick visits offered on a limited basis; call before arriving to confirm. Sliding-scale applies.
A family medicine practice near Slaughter Lane (78748)
Their online portal said they’re taking new patients. The phone gave a different picture: new patients are accepted only for appointments with their nurse practitioner. Wait is about 6 weeks for the NP, 10 weeks for the physician. Cash-pay runs $175 for an NP visit, $225 for the MD. If you have flexibility on provider type, take it — for most routine primary care, a nurse practitioner is perfectly adequate, and four weeks is a real difference.
A South Lamar-area internal medicine practice (78704)
Panel closed. Referring people to St. David’s MyHealthcare or ARC. Healthgrades listed them as accepting new patients. The phone said no. You’d never know unless you called.
North Austin and the Domain Area
Austin Regional Clinic — Domain North location (78758)
Taking new patients; wait for a new-patient physical is about 8 weeks. Accepts most major commercial plans. Self-pay first visit quoted at $250 to $300 depending on complexity. No walk-in primary care, but ARC Urgent Care is co-located. This was one of the more accurate Zocdoc listings we encountered — the portal and the phone told roughly the same story. After several calls, that felt almost refreshing.
One Medical — Domain location (78758)
Taking new patients on a membership model. Annual fee of $199 — or $99 for Amazon Prime members — is required before you can schedule anything. That’s separate from any insurance cost-sharing. Primary care visits are included with membership; telehealth is available within 24 hours of activation. If you want ongoing primary care in North Austin and you’re comfortable paying to get in the door, this is currently one of the faster entry points we found. The annual fee is a real barrier for uninsured patients, though. You’re paying to skip a line that shouldn’t exist.
A direct primary care practice in the North Burnet corridor (78758)
Taking new patients. Monthly membership runs $75 to $85 depending on age, plus a one-time $100 enrollment fee. No per-visit charges within the membership. Labs drawn at cost. No insurance accepted or billed. First appointment after enrollment: about 1 week. I’ll be direct: “pay a monthly fee to be seen in a week” is a broken system’s workaround, not a solution. But for patients with stable income and no insurance — or for anyone who’s genuinely fed up with insurance-driven primary care — this model deserves a hard look.
A physician-owned family medicine practice near The Domain (78759)
Panel closed, no timeline for reopening. “We’re at capacity.” Not listed as closed on any aggregator. You would only know by calling, which is exactly why we called.
Cedar Park (78613, 78641)
A multi-physician family medicine group on Lakeline Blvd.
Taking new patients with a 7-week wait. Accepts most commercial plans; Medicaid accepted for children (CHIP) but not adults. Self-pay new-patient workup quoted at $200.
A Cedar Park internal medicine solo practice
Panel closed. The physician is retiring in the spring and has stopped adding patients. No referral source given. If you’re a current patient here, start looking now.
Baylor Scott & White — Cedar Park
Taking new patients with a 10-to-12-week wait. Accepts a broad insurance panel. When we asked about self-pay pricing, staff directed us to a financial counselor rather than quoting a rate. Patients without insurance deserve a straight answer, not a second appointment just to find out what they’ll owe.
Far South and Southeast Austin (78744, 78748)
A family practice near William Cannon and Manchaca
Taking new patients via their patient portal only — phone staff said they no longer schedule new patients by phone. Online wait: 9 weeks. Cash-pay pricing not disclosed online; phone staff said “it depends on what you need” without elaborating. That’s not useful for someone trying to decide whether they can afford to come in.
A solo family medicine physician near McKinney Falls area (78744)
Panel closed. No estimated reopening.
A federally qualified look-alike clinic in Southeast Austin
Three aggregators listed this clinic as accepting new patients. The phone was disconnected. The website was last updated in 2023. We drove by. The suite was vacant. We flagged this to Zocdoc. As of press time, the listing is still live. Someone trying to find a doctor in Southeast Austin could waste an afternoon on this address.
The Wait, by Clinic Type
Private group practices — ARC, Baylor Scott & White, multi-physician independents — showed new-patient waits of 7 to 12 weeks across confirmed calls. These practices have strong insurance networks and patient portals, and they’re the first place most people look. January is the hardest window; deductibles reset and people who put off care through December all call at once. Late summer and fall is the second pressure point, driven by UT students arriving and families establishing care after moves. That calendar depth reflects real math: a practice booking four slots per day across four providers doesn’t have much room for new patients when existing patients need continuity. That’s not cynical — it’s just how it works.
Independent and solo private practices showed the opposite pattern. Several we called had closed panels with no timeline. Those still open had waits of 6 to 10 weeks. Solo practices are also the most likely to have stale aggregator listings — one physician doesn’t have a marketing team keeping Zocdoc current. Calling directly is the only reliable method.
CommUnityCare and People’s Community Clinic showed new-patient waits of 3 to 5 weeks — actually shorter than most private group practices in our sample, which surprised us. Same-day access for acute issues varies by location. And some patients incorrectly assume these clinics are only for uninsured or very low-income people. They’re not. Anyone can use them, and anyone dealing with a long wait at a private practice should consider it.
The direct primary care practice in North Burnet was the fastest entry point we found: about a week from enrollment to first appointment. The monthly membership ($75 to $85) is the qualifier. It works well for uninsured patients with stable incomes and poorly for people who can’t absorb a new monthly expense.
One Medical’s telehealth is available within 24 hours of membership activation. The $199/year front-loads the cost. Whether that feels reasonable or like a poll tax on sick people probably depends on how long you’ve already been waiting.
Telehealth platforms operating under Texas law can schedule initial contact within 24 to 48 hours. We detail those separately below.
What a First Visit Costs Without Insurance
Private practices quoted new-patient visit rates of $175 (nurse practitioner, South Austin family medicine) to $300 (physician visit at ARC). Most physician new-patient visits landed at $200 to $250. Labs are billed separately. A basic metabolic panel or lipid panel at Quest will add $40 to $80.
Baylor Scott & White declined to give a self-pay rate over the phone and directed us to a financial counselor instead. It’s the healthcare equivalent of a restaurant that won’t show you the menu until you sit down.
CommUnityCare’s sliding scale works in tiers tied to the Federal Poverty Level. At or below 100% FPL, a visit runs $20 to $40, confirmed by phone. Between 100% and 200% FPL, the rate scales with income. Above 200% FPL, you pay closer to the full fee schedule — still below private-practice cash rates. The front desk directed us to their eligibility team for exact figures, which is appropriate; household size changes the math significantly.
People’s Community Clinic runs a similar structure, administered independently from CommUnityCare. The front desk confirmed no patient is turned away for inability to pay, and income documentation can be discussed at the first visit if you don’t have it yet.
The DPC practice’s membership ($75 to $85/month) covers unlimited primary care with no per-visit charges. Lab work runs at actual cost — the practice quoted a basic metabolic panel at about $7, versus $40 to $80 at a commercial lab. It’s the most transparent pricing model we encountered. Worth knowing if you have steady income but no insurance.
One Medical’s membership ($199/year, or $99 with Amazon Prime) covers primary care visits and gives you telehealth access. If you have insurance, it gets billed separately. If you don’t, the membership is your cost for primary care — but specialist referrals and labs will add to it.
A word on urgent care: NextCare, FastMed, MinuteClinic, and AFC run $100 to $175 for a self-pay acute visit. Urgent care cannot manage a chronic condition over time, and the handoff to a new primary care provider means starting your history from scratch every time. If you’ve been relying on it as your default for a few years, you already know how incomplete that feels.
CommUnityCare and People’s Community Clinic
Austin residents misunderstand these two institutions more than any others in the city, and they’re the most important safety-net providers we have.
Both are federally qualified health centers — a specific federal designation that requires, by law, sliding-scale fees tied to income, and care for patients regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. They’re funded partly by federal grants and partly by Travis County taxpayers. You’ve already paid for part of their operating budget whether you’ve ever walked in or not.
If you’re uninsured, underinsured, or can’t afford private-practice cash rates, these clinics exist for you. Middle-income residents who’ve heard “CommUnityCare is for low-income people” and moved on are leaving a real resource on the table. For broader context on how Austin’s safety-net providers fit into our health & wellness coverage, the access gaps documented here connect to a range of related reporting on costs, wait times, and alternatives across the city.
CommUnityCare locations confirmed taking new patients in our call round:
- East — 211 Comal St. (78702): Open, about 3 weeks.
- Rosewood-Zaragosa — 2800 Webberville Rd. (78702): Open, about 4 weeks.
- South Austin — 2529 S. First St. (78704): Open, about 3 to 4 weeks.
- Rundberg — 1000 E. Rundberg Ln. (78753): Open, about 4 weeks. This location serves the Rundberg corridor, one of the most medically underserved parts of the city.
People’s Community Clinic — 1101 Camino La Costa (78752): Independent of CommUnityCare, with its own leadership and board. New patients open, about 5 weeks. Often overlooked because it has no marketing footprint to speak of. It functions as one of Austin’s genuine safety-net anchors and accepts patients regardless of insurance or immigration status.
On documentation: To establish eligibility for the sliding-scale fee at CommUnityCare, bring proof of income (recent pay stub, most recent federal tax return, or a written self-attestation if unemployed — the front desk has the form), proof of Texas residency (utility bill, signed lease, or official mail with your address), a government-issued photo ID, your insurance card if you have one, and a list of current medications with dosages.
The CommUnityCare staff member we spoke with was clear: “We don’t turn anyone away because they don’t have documents.” Having them speeds the process and avoids a second trip, but their absence is not disqualifying. That matters for immigrant residents and people in unstable housing situations — and it’s the kind of thing that rarely makes it onto the website.
One more thing on Medicaid: Texas hasn’t expanded Medicaid under the ACA, which means a large share of low-income single adults don’t qualify. CommUnityCare’s sliding scale is not Medicaid enrollment. It’s a separate fee structure that exists precisely because the Medicaid gap in Texas is wide and the state has shown no interest in closing it. Using the sliding scale does not affect your Medicaid eligibility or any other benefits.
CommUnityCare scheduling: 512-978-9015. Online booking is available at communitycaretx.org, but the front desk confirmed that calling is faster for new patient setup.
People’s Community Clinic scheduling: 512-478-4939.
The Dead Zones
Our calls, combined with federal health professional shortage area designations, point to four parts of Austin where primary care access is genuinely thin.
Far South Austin (78744, 78748) has grown fast without a matching increase in physician supply. Our calls returned two closed panels and one practice taking new patients only through an online portal with a 9-week wait. The ZIP codes south of Slaughter Lane have no adequate primary care walk-in access. CommUnityCare’s closest location is South Austin at 2529 S. First St. (78704) — accessible by car, not walkable from most of 78744. People here who are uninsured are choosing between a long wait at the South Austin CommUnityCare, driving to urgent care for acute issues only, or — if they have income — paying a DPC or One Medical membership. None of those are good options. They’re just less bad than each other in different ways.
East Austin outside the FQHC anchors (78721) sits between the Comal and Rosewood-Zaragosa CommUnityCare locations in a gap that matters on the ground. The neighborhood is gentrifying rapidly; physician supply has not followed. Our calls to two private practices in this ZIP produced one closed panel and one practice that couldn’t say when they’d reopen.
The Rundberg Corridor (78753) — North Lamar between Rundberg and Braker — is one of Austin’s most economically stressed neighborhoods, and the primary care situation reflects it. CommUnityCare Rundberg at 1000 E. Rundberg Ln. is open and taking new patients. Private practice coverage is thin. Uninsured residents should go straight to CommUnityCare Rundberg rather than spending time on aggregators that might send them to a vacant suite.
Cedar Park (78613, 78641) has a different problem. Not poverty-related — growth-related. Cedar Park has been among the fastest-growing suburbs in the Austin metro for a decade, and physician supply has consistently lagged. We found waits of 7 to 12 weeks at practices that were open, and one solo physician who’s closing his panel permanently due to retirement. There’s no CommUnityCare location in Cedar Park, which means uninsured and low-income residents in Williamson County don’t have the FQHC fallback that Travis County residents do. Williamson County has its own health district with limited primary care services. Check the county’s website for current availability.
If you live in one of these zones and need care now: CommUnityCare and People’s Community Clinic for any income level; a Texas-compliant telehealth service for conditions manageable remotely; or, for Cedar Park, the Williamson County health district.
Does Telehealth Actually Count in Texas
Yes, with real limits.
Texas Occupations Code §111 governs telehealth in the state. As of 2025, a physician or advanced practice provider can establish a patient-provider relationship via telehealth. A video visit with a licensed Texas provider can legally be your first encounter with that provider and can generate a valid patient record. You don’t need an in-person visit first.
Telehealth works for: initial evaluations for new or ongoing conditions, prescription management for stable chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, hypothyroidism, depression, anxiety), specialist referrals, ordering lab work, and reviewing results.
Telehealth can’t do a physical exam. Listening to lungs, feeling an abdomen, checking lymph nodes, looking at skin — any hands-on assessment your situation requires means you need to be in the room.
Among platforms operating under Texas law, Sesame is worth calling out specifically. It’s a cash-pay marketplace where you can book a Texas-licensed primary care physician for a telehealth visit at a publicly listed price — typically $30 to $75 — with no membership fee required. Visits generate a summary and, in most cases, a health record a future in-person provider can access. Ask the provider explicitly to share records if you plan to establish with a clinic later. Teladoc and MDLive are the other commonly used options.
Amazon Clinic handles a narrow set of conditions — UTIs, sinus infections, some prescription renewals — at flat cash prices. Fast and convenient. Not a primary care replacement.
One thing patients don’t think about enough: if you use telehealth to start care for a chronic condition and later establish with an in-person doctor, that doctor will want your history. Ask your telehealth provider at the end of the visit whether they’ll share records with a future provider and how to request the transfer. Keep copies of your visit summaries. This sounds like bureaucratic box-checking until the day you actually need the records and don’t have them. If finding a therapist for a mental health prescription is part of what’s driving your search, our reporting on what it actually takes to get a therapist in Austin in 2026 covers waitlists, sliding-scale options, and telehealth pathways specific to mental health.
SIDEBAR: What to Bring to Your First CommUnityCare Appointment
Confirmed by calling CommUnityCare scheduling at 512-978-9015.
For income documentation (bring one): most recent pay stub (last 30 days), most recent federal tax return (1040), or — if unemployed or with no income — a written self-attestation. The front desk has the form; ask for it in advance.
For residency documentation (bring one): utility bill with your name and Austin address, signed lease agreement, or official mail (government letter, bank statement) showing your current address.
For identity: government-issued photo ID.
If you have insurance: bring your insurance card. CommUnityCare bills insurance first; the sliding scale applies to your remaining balance.
Medications: a written list of everything you take, with dosage and frequency — or bring the bottles.
What to know before you go: no patient is turned away for lack of documentation, but having it avoids a second trip. Spanish interpretation is available at Rosewood-Zaragosa; call ahead to confirm at other locations. Online scheduling is at communitycaretx.org, but calling 512-978-9015 is faster for new patients. People’s Community Clinic (512-478-4939) uses a similar intake process.
All calls were made by CityDesk Austin staff in late summer 2025. Clinic availability changes frequently — verify directly before scheduling. If you find a listing that’s materially inaccurate, particularly the vacant Southeast Austin clinic still live on Zocdoc as of press time, let us know at tips@citydeskaustin.com.
