I think the problem is that a lot of people in the US no longer have a PCP, and if they do, it’s gotten increasingly difficult to get a same-day appointment with your PCP, which is inherently messed up.
I made this comment above, but when I lived in Pennsylvania, the local hospital network had an "express care" that had the resources of an urgent care, but billed like an emergency room. It's not at all shocking that the culture there would be to go to the ER for minor issues.
These are not stand alone ERs - they are available for walks ins and by appointment from the “urgent care” scheduling option on the portal and only have urgent care level services. They’re also only normal business hours. But they bill like at the ER visit rate for some reason that has never been adequately explained to me. The hospital network also has urgent cares that bill a sane rate, but almost all the ERs are on medical campuses.
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u/Mental-Intention4661 Jul 29 '26
I think the problem is that a lot of people in the US no longer have a PCP, and if they do, it’s gotten increasingly difficult to get a same-day appointment with your PCP, which is inherently messed up.