Press Room Blue Cross of California |
|
Blue Cross Developing Urgent Care Center PPO
Network Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross) is proud to announce the rollout of our Urgent Care Center Network for members with PPO coverage provided or administrated by Blue Cross or BC Life & Health Insurance Company. Through this new network, we hope to help alleviate the burden of emergency room (ER) overuse – one of the top cost drivers in health care today. According to a December 2005 report by the California Hospital Association, “Every three-and-one-half seconds in California, someone is brought to an emergency room. That’s over 30,000 people every day seeking emergency care at community hospitals.” The problem is that many ER visits aren’t actual emergencies. In a 2002 survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that almost half of all visits to the ER are neither emergencies nor urgent in nature. Recent studies suggest that number is rising dramatically. The California Institute for County Government researched the use of emergency rooms for routine care in August 2004 and concluded, “The misuse of high-cost ERs results in an inefficient allocation of resources, thereby raising the overall cost of health care, and is an impediment to the effective delivery of the type of services for which emergency rooms are designed.” In other words, inappropriate ER use means overcrowding, longer wait times and less focus on patients truly facing life-threatening situations. Additionally, ER visits are about six times more expensive than comparable treatment in a physician’s office.1 Urgent Care Centers offer the following advantages: Convenient locations No appointment required Shorter wait times Lower costs
|