Free-standing ERs offer care without the wait. But patients can still pay $6,800 to treat a cut. (medical, plan)

[JD59]

HOUSTON — Not far from neighborhood streets lined with *million-dollar homes here lies an open-air mall where people go to eat, shop and — when needed — get emergency medical treatment. People pull up to the front door, park next to a gleaming antique ambulance and enter a waiting room that feels more like a graceful hotel lobby than a holding area for sick people.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.e51a846aa250

[Angie682]

Most Americans are completely clueless about how much medical care "really" costs. I work for an insurance company so know what things really cost. Twenty years ago an ER visit at the hospital might have run $300.00 to $500.00. Today a typical ER visit at a hospital based ER is between $3000.00 and $5000.00 in a large metro area. Some ER claims can be much higher than that.

I used one of the free standing ER's down the street from my house. I knew ahead of time they were in-network with my insurance. My kid had a severe earache in the middle of the night. I had no desire to drive all the way downtown and sit at the hospital ER for hours on end -- which was my only other option. There have been times when I have sat for up to six hours in the ER for a minor ailment for my kid. I went to the free standing ER by my house instead. We were in and out in under 30 minutes. The bill was 2k -- which was far less than it would have been at the Children's Hospital downtown. The convenience was totally worth it to me and less expensive than the actual hospital would have been.

The problems come in when people don't know in advance if the provider is in-network with their insurance or don't realize the actual cost of medical services -- not just your copay. Any provider will "accept" your insurance. Now whether or not they are an in-network provider is a totally different story. Be an informed consumer.

[ten years after]

It is great to know ahead of time if these free standing ER"s are PPO ..But there is no way of knowing if everyone working there is in network . That is the ""new"" norm . The various techs or doctors nowdays are NOT in network.. Not much you can do about that .Just expect to be shell shocked when you get explanation of benefits and find out so and so was not in network .. Speaking from own personal experience. This is going on all over the USA .. You think your doing the right thing and going in-network and you get slammed by a crazy bill .. Talk about being blindsided !!!

[toofache32]

Originally Posted by ten years after

It is great to know ahead of time if these free standing ER"s are PPO ..But there is no way of knowing if everyone working there is in network . That is the ""new"" norm . The various techs or doctors nowdays are NOT in network.. Not much you can do about that .Just expect to be shell shocked when you get explanation of benefits and find out so and so was not in network .. Speaking from own personal experience. This is going on all over the USA .. You think your doing the right thing and going in-network and you get slammed by a crazy bill .. Talk about being blindsided !!!

This is an insurance problem. If insurance companies quit playing games and paid reasonable rates then all providers would sign up for their plans.