Those little immediate care clinics can be great

[cthulu2016]

Adequate for 90% of acute medical issues. The doctors are usually nice. Very quick and simple, only costs $75-$100.

Example (true) visit. Suffering severe pain from flare-up of cervical spine issue. Diagnosed (correctly) as cycle of muscle spasms yanking inflamed nerve, causing more spasms and more yanking. Root cause probably arthritic spurs. Doctor prescribes muscle relaxant, ibuprofen 800mg and small oxycodone script. Doctor and patient discuss which muscle relaxant and which pain relief medicines in terms of cost. Doctor changes muscle relaxant to one available as a generic. In and out in under an hour. Total cost of visit $90.

But they don't take insurance. (At least not around here, though I am informed that others do.)

I don't think the issue is that insurers wouldn't cover it... it's a doctor visit, and a relatively inexpensive one. The clinics (where I am) can't do what they do within the context of taking insurance. Their whole thing is low overhead, minimal paperwork.

It seems to me that where there is an infrastructure to treat most complaints quite efficiently and inexpensively it ought to be made better use of somehow.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. The closest walk-in clinic to me takes insurance.

[cthulu2016]

3. Yes. I have asked people about that, and the regional results are mixed

May be differences in state laws.

[hedgehog]

2. The fact that walk-in clinics can do a good job so

cheaply makes me suspect more than ever that ER costs are reportedly high simply because the ER is a convenient spot for hospital accountants to dump a lot of costs. Around here, the local hospital set up an off-site walk-in clinic. So, we are told over and over that ER costs run high because people use the ER as a walk-in clinic, but when the walk-in clinic (and its costs!) are separated, the clinic is cheap. Oddly enough, the ER costs didn't go down when the walk-in clinic opened!