Short answer: Yes. You can go to urgent care without insurance and pay the bill yourself. Ask for the price before you are seen, and ask for a written good faith estimate. If your problem is life threatening, call 911 or go to an emergency room, because hospital emergency rooms must screen and stabilize you whatever you can pay.
You can ask any urgent care center whether it sees patients who pay on their own. This is often called self-pay, which means you pay the bill yourself and nothing is sent to an insurance company. Each center sets its own rules and prices, so call first and ask what it charges.
HealthCare.gov defines urgent care as care for an illness, injury or condition serious enough that a reasonable person would seek care right away, but not so severe that it needs emergency room care. MedlinePlus, a health information site from the National Library of Medicine, says urgent care clinics can deal with problems such as colds, flu, sore throats, sprains, and minor cuts and burns. A direct primary care doctor, who you pay a flat membership fee, may also handle many urgent but non-emergency questions, so ask your own doctor first if you have one.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says that usually, a provider must give a good faith estimate of expected charges to a person who does not have insurance or who chooses not to use it. A good faith estimate is a written guess of what your care will cost. You usually get one when you schedule at least 3 business days ahead or when you ask for one. CMS says no estimate is given during emergency care. Each estimate covers only one provider or facility, so ask the center and any other provider involved, such as a lab. If your bill is at least $400 more than the estimate from that provider, CMS says you may be able to dispute it.
Call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke, fainting, a severe allergic reaction or a seizure that does not stop. CMS explains that under a federal law called EMTALA, hospitals that take part in Medicare and offer emergency services must give a medical screening exam when you ask for one for an emergency condition. They must then give stabilizing treatment, or arrange an appropriate transfer if they cannot. CMS says this applies regardless of ability to pay. Being treated is not the same as being free of charge, so you may still get a bill later. CMS describes this rule for hospitals that offer emergency services. A stand-alone urgent care center is not a hospital emergency room, so do not count on this rule there. If you think you have an emergency, call 911 or go to a hospital emergency room.
You can find a direct-pay doctor near you for ongoing care, or read about seeing a doctor without insurance.
CMS says providers usually must give a good faith estimate to people without insurance when they schedule at least 3 business days ahead or ask for one. None is given during emergency care.
CMS says hospitals that take part in Medicare and offer emergency services must screen and stabilize people with emergency conditions regardless of ability to pay. You may still get a bill.
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