User’s Guide to Urgent Care Clinics
Sometimes you just need to get seen by a doctor, stat. Maybe you aren’t having an emergency like having a baby or cradling your severed limb in your hands, but things like a sprained ankle or a rapidly rising temperature require some fairly prompt attention. According to Health Net’s website, urgent care services are “medically necessary services which are required for an illness or injury that would not result in further disability or death if not treated immediately, but require professional attention and have the potential to develop such a threat if treatment is delayed longer than 24 hours.” What is the difference between emergency and urgent care? How can you get seen quickly without spending a ton of your hard earned dollars? How can you make sure that your urgent care visit will be covered by your health insurance? Read on to learn the best way to approach urgent care.
Assess Your Symptoms
If you are feeling like you are having a heart attack, get thee to an emergency room, stat. Urgent care centers are not for people who feel like their lives are in danger. But, if you’re uncomfortable from a minor sports injury or your flu feels like it’s just getting worse, an urgent center will be the way to go. Before you hop into a car to head for the emergency room or an urgent care center, ask yourself the following questions: Could I tolerate the way I’m feeling for another 48 hours? Do I want to spend less than $600 on a visit? Do I have the time to wait to be seen? If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, point your car in the direction of the nearest urgent care center.
Know What Your Plan Covers
This should apply to most health related things, but knowing and understanding what your health insurance plan covers is crucial. Many providers will charge you for “emergency” services if you visit an in-network urgent care center, and will cover up to a certain amount (say 50%) if you visit a center out of network. Looking through the paperwork provided by your insurance company can help you know exactly what they will pay for at an urgent care center, and help you identify which covered urgent care center is closest to your home.
If you don’t have health insurance, search online to see what type of insurance plan would work best for you. Fortunately, if you are uninsured and visit an urgent care center, you will be paying far less out of your pocket than you would if you went to an emergency room. During college, I was uninsured and was having an asthma attack. Nothing life threatening, and I could have spent the rest of the night tolerating the symptoms, but I was out of my inhaler and very uncomfortable. I remember paying between $75-$100 for my visit, getting hooked to an Albuterol tank and then another $25 for my prescription. An emergency room visit alone can cost anywhere from $500 on up, and that isn’t including any tests that get run or medications prescribed.
No matter if you are insured or uninsured, one of the biggest insider tips for those visiting an urgent care center is to bring along some cold, hard cash. Many centers will offer discounts to those paying with cash, so it may be well worth it to swing by the ATM on your way.
photo credit: David Boyle in DC
Tags: emergency room cost, health care, health insurance, health insurance plan, plan coverage, urgent care, urgent care cost
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
I am trying to find a care provider hospital in the los angeles area that accepts my bluecross of mn insurance, but cannot find it on this site as instructed. Please assist me with the name of a hospital or two that I can go to.