Sometimes, you get extremely sick or sustain an injury. And there are simply just times when you can’t see your primary care doctor. The issue isn’t detrimental, so you don’t want to go to the ER. Therefore, you go to the urgent care facilities.
Urgent care facilities are convenient and offer similar the services of your primary care doctor.
But did you leave the urgent care paying more than what you expected? If you have to visit an urgent care facility, you should know what you’re paying for.
While this cost may be inconvenient, you might realize paying more is worth it. Read this guide and understand your urgent care bill.
Urgent care facilities offer more services, usually more than your primary care doctor can provide.
Urgent care facilities were devised to act as an ER and a general practitioners office. Because of this, urgent care facilities offer non-urgent ER services without the cost and wait.
Your urgent care bill depends on the reason why you visited the facility. For example, visiting an urgent care facility for a sore throat usually costs less than $100.
But if you visit for a more severe condition, such as bronchitis, they will charge you more.
But if you visit your GP, they may only charge you a co-pay. Why is that?
Urgent care centers usually offer more services than your GP, such as technology to see why your throat is bothering you. If your GP thinks your sore throat is severe, they may only prescribe medication or refer you to a specialist.
One of the benefits of a walk-in clinic is they’re open late. Most are open in the late evening, some are even open 24-hours. Most clinics are also open on the weekends.
If you need urgent care and can’t make an appointment with your GP, urgent care centers are more convenient.
But this can also cause your urgent care bill to increase.
While urgent care centers are more affordable than emergency care, arriving at an urgent care center during late night hours and on the weekends can make your bill increase in cost.
This is a common situation: you go to your local urgent care center and notice your bill is expensive. The main culprit is usually your insurance. While most urgent care centers take a myriad of insurance providers, they don’t accept all.
Before you go in, try and call. Inquire about the insurance carriers they accept. If they don’t accept your insurance, ask how much the cost of your service will be. This way, you’ll at least be prepared for the cost.
There are times when you need to go to the urgent care center.
When you have a non-threatening condition and can’t see your general practitioner, an urgent care center is a great alternative to the ER. But do you notice your bill is a little more expensive than visiting your primary care doctor?
This may be an inconvenience, but urgent care centers offer a myriad of services, they’re open late and wait times are less than a couple of hours.
Are you based in Gonzales, LA? Visit our urgent care center.