Visit emergency rooms only when necessary

Blue Cross of Idaho
When you're sick or injured and your doctor's office isn't open, sometimes the emergency room (ER) can seem like your best alternative. But if it's not a true emergency, you'll probably just end up wasting time — and spending much more money than you need to.

An emergency room visit can cost members $250 to $1,000. On the other hand, a trip to an urgent care facility typically runs about $90 to $150.

Urgent care facilities (or an in-network physician) are a good choice when you need medical attention, but is not likely to cause permanent damage or death. Problems like broken bones, sprains, minor burns and cuts, earaches, sore throats and headaches fall under that category.

There are times when an emergency room is the right choice, though. If you have any of the following symptoms, you should head to the ER:

• compound fracture
• suddenly being unable to speak or breathe
• heavy bleeding
• chest pain
• seizures
• stroke symptoms (like numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body, confusion, trouble speaking or understanding, sudden difficulty seeing or walking or a severe headache with no known cause)

Get help faster
If you need to quickly find a medical facility near you, check our online provider directory. You can search by provider type (including hospitals and urgent care facilities) and location so you can get the care you need faster.

Published 5-10-13