What is the Cost of Urgent Care?

When patients are suffering from a minor, acute medical need, a Raleigh Urgent Care clinic can be far more convenient compared to the Emergency Room or your Primary Doctor’s office. It can also be more cost effective. Healthcare costs can be confusing and leave people with expensive medical bills.

Below is a summary of what patients can expect to pay at an Urgent Care clinic. These estimates are based on various insurance scenarios and begin with a basic understanding of urgent care costs.

Urgent Care Cost

The cost for treatment at an urgent care center is largely based on circumstance and need. The healthcare system can be frustrating and confusing. As an example, visiting the same urgent care clinic as an insured patient compared to an uninsured patient can result in a drastically different costs. In most cases, however, patients are expected to pay for the cost of the visit in addition to the cost for any additional services, tests or treatments. Some of these common costs include:

  • Medications and Injections -Uninsured patients will be charged for all medications, injections, and services prior to leaving our facility. We have reduced rates for all services, including our injectables, medication, IV, and labs.
  • Tests & X-rays –Patients who require tests or x-rays will incur additional costs on top of the base cost for urgent care service. Depending on the type of test performed, this can be quite costly. However, our Urgent Care cost is much more affordable than the traditional Urgent Care, since we bill under Primary Care services.
  • Casting a Broken Bone -If the patient has a broken bone or a sprain, there will be additional costs for casting or bracing the bone. Bracing is more expensive than casting, because the patient keeps the expensive brace. Casting uses an inexpensive gauze.

Urgent Care Visit Cost - With Insurance

Health insurance typically covers urgent care visits. The out-of-pocket expenses will depend on numerous factors which include:

  • If the deductible has been met
  • Co-pay costs based on insurance plan
  • If your insurance plan includes co-insurance
  • If the urgent care center is in-network or out-of-network

Urgent Care and Emergency Room Costs

Determining your expected costs for a doctor’s visit can be complicated and confusing. Nearly all urgent care clinics accept insurance and are far more affordable compared to a visit to the emergency room. A visit to the ER can cost $500 or more, depending on your issue and treatment.

Many people visit the ER because they have to be treated, even if they do not have insurance. Urgent care centers will also treat patients who do not have insurance and many clinics offer payment plans, if needed.

In nearly all cases, patients will spend far less when they visit an urgent care center compared to the expected costs of an ER visit.

More on Urgent Care : Is Urgent Care Covered By Health Insurance?