As out-of-pocket health care costs rise, it’s beneficial for your employees to know there are cost-effective facilities, known as Urgent Care centers, available for non-life-threatening services when their doctors’ office is closed.

For a life-threatening emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room (ER).

However, the ER is not usually the best place to go for minor injuries or illnesses. Inappropriate ER visits are a key cause of rising health care costs. ERs are often crowded, and patients are treated based on the severity of their condition. That often means you will have a long wait. Since they don’t know you at the ER, you won’t get the same personalized service that you get from your own doctor. The ER doctor won’t be familiar with your medical history, and may not be aware of conditions for which you are being treated. ERs also cost much more than the services you get from your own doctor – both for you and your health plan. For example, your ER copayment is most likely much higher than your office visit copayment.

You can save money by using an urgent care center. An urgent care co-pay is the same as the non-preventive or specialist office visit co-pay for HNE’s non-upfront deductible plans. An ER visit may be subject to the deductible or cost up to a $150 co-pay. For a listing of urgent care centers, you can log on to www.hne.com and click Members, Find a Doctor and click Urgent Care Facilities for an updated listing.

Here is a list of participating urgent care centers: Urgent Care 2013