Tests and Procedures

Healthcare at Half the Price: How Freestanding Medical Clinics Can Save You Money

Urgent care centers, retail clinics, and other stand-alone facilities are often far cheaper—and more convenient—than your local hospital.

Mother and child at a freestanding medical clinic

Need an urgent care facility? It’s close — just two doors down from your local nail salon. Lab work? You can get that at the mall, alongside the Gap. Flu shots? Aisle 7, across from pet supplies. Welcome to the new world of healthcare, where convenience is the name of the game.

After all, it makes sense to look for the services you need at the places you already go to, instead of trekking to a busy, sprawling hospital complex that’s miles away. “The average person will pass three to five freestanding imaging centers on their way to the place their doctor told them to get an MRI,” says Caitlin Donovan. She’s senior director of the National Patient Advocate Foundation. “So why not opt for convenience?”

And while you’re at it, you can save some money too. Suppose you come down with a nasty sore throat on a Saturday afternoon, when your doctor’s office is closed. One option is the emergency department. But a typical visit to the ED can set you back $2,200. On the other hand, a quick trip to the local urgent care center will cost around $180, on average. Plus, you could be in and out in 30 minutes or so, while the average wait in the emergency department is two hours.

Urgent care centers are only one of your options for saving on healthcare. There are many types of freestanding medical clinics, from ambulatory surgery centers to commercial labs. They all have these things in common:

Freestanding clinics are staffed by licensed professionals

Rest assured, a doctor with an M.D. at a freestanding facility has the same training as one who practices at a hospital. You might also be treated by a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner. They may be able to diagnose your issue or recommend treatment (including prescribing medications), depending on which state you live in.

Freestanding facilities can charge less because they’re not connected to a hospital or health system

Hospitals have a staff that’s on duty around the clock. That’s a huge overhead expense, and they’re likely also footing the bill for other amenities: a full-service cafeteria for patients, employees, and visitors, for instance, or that new state-of-the-art wing.

Every time you use the hospital for an MRI, a lab test, or a prescription, you help pay for all of that. Plus, hospitals are required by law to provide emergency care for patients who can’t afford it, and your fees help cover that too. It’s very generous of you — but not so great for your bank account.

You may get care more quickly

Freestanding facilities, unlike hospitals, focus on a few specific tasks and do them efficiently. A 2018 review of more than 600 shoulder surgery cases, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, found that when these procedures were performed by a small staff at a freestanding surgery center, they took 39% less time than they did at a hospital outpatient department.

So before you assume that a big medical center is your best choice for care, talk about your options with your doctor and your insurance company. They may guide you to one of these common freestanding health facilities:

1. Urgent care centers

You’re starting to feel a tickle in your throat, but your doctor’s office is closed and you’re worried that if you wait a few days for an appointment, you’ll feel a lot worse. The solution: an urgent care center. These are walk-in facilities, staffed by doctors, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners who can diagnose and treat illnesses or injuries that aren’t super serious.

Urgent care centers are extremely popular — and effective. One study showed that simply having an urgent care center in your ZIP code reduced emergency department visits by 17%. In 2019, there were 9,279 facilities in the U.S., providing care to more than 112 million patients a year and treating a range of conditions, according to the Urgent Care Association. These include fevers, rashes, upper respiratory infections, cuts, strains, and sprains. Most centers offer x-rays, and some even dispense medications.

“Urgent care centers are fantastic,” says Nicole Broadhurst. She’s a board-certified billing advocate and founder of the Nashville-area Tennessee Health Advocates. “Try to use one that’s in your insurance network — but even if you don’t, their cash prices are very reasonable.”

2. Retail clinics

You’ll find these inside drugstore chains such as CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. They’re beginning to pop up in big-box stores such as Walmart and Target too. They’re a great option for conveniently getting professional care for a minor, non-emergency illness — nearly 30% of visits are for sore throats or sinusitis symptoms. You can pop into your local CVS MinuteClinic and get the care you need quickly for as little as $99. 

A study by the Rand Corporation found that people at retail clinics received care similar in quality to that at a doctor’s office. That’s especially important for those who don’t have their own family doctor — which includes a third of all millennials.

3. Imaging centers

Diagnostic tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), x-rays, PET scans, and CT scans can be expensive, especially at the hospital. Is the hospital scan better? No, says Touré McCluskey, co-founder and chief product officer of REDU Health. Imaging tests such as MRIs and x-rays are the same everywhere. They’re considered a commodity.

4. Ambulatory surgical centers

These are freestanding facilities where common surgical procedures from cataract removals to joint replacements are provided. You walk in, have your surgery, and check out. “An ambulatory surgical center is set up to get you home safely the same day,” says Bryce Johnson, M.D. He’s an orthopedic surgeon and president of OrthoWest in Orange County, California.

“You’re getting a procedure that’s just as good as — or better than — at the hospital,” says Dr. Johnson. “The operating room looks the same, and the teams are trained in the same way. If you took a tour, the only difference you’d notice is that it’s in a freestanding structure.” There’s another difference too: the cost. You can save about 59% by shifting the location of your surgery from a hospital to an ambulatory surgical center.

5. Independent labs

Independent laboratories are certified to perform diagnostic and/or clinical tests outside a hospital or a doctor’s office. Need a urinalysis to check for a UTI? Want to track your blood sugars to make sure your diabetes is under control? You can skip the hospital lab and head instead to a nearby independent lab.

Testing is performed by certified technicians who are licensed by the state. They do the same professional work that’s done in hospital labs, without the high overhead and its accompanying high price tag. In one region, for example, a complete blood test can cost $132 at the hospital but only $29 at a national lab chain, according to Broadhurst.

Opting for an independent facility can definitely make a difference when it comes to your medical bills. To find one, try these tips:

Additional sources
Shoulder surgery study: Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews (2018). “Safety of Outpatient Shoulder Surgery at a Freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center in Patients Aged 65 Years and Older: A Review of 640 Cases”
Care at retail clinics: Rand (2016). “The Evolving Role of Retail Clinics”
Millennials and primary care: Canadian Medical Journal (2018). “Primary Care System Outdated and Inconvenient for Many Millennials”
Impact of urgent care on ED visits: Health Services Research (2021). “The Impact of Urgent Care Centers on Nonemergent Emergency Department Visits”