Many elements have contributed to the now ever-increasing health care costs in the United States. From the new health care reform act to advancements in medicine and technology, there are many reasons why the cost of health care continues to rise. One of the less obvious but most important forces behind the high cost of health insurance is the overuse of hospitals. Through programs like Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the private insurance options, people are able to seek help immediately. However, some people are forced to go to the doctors for non-emergency situations when it's after hours for a regular doctor's office. The number of people who do this is increasing, making the cost of health insurance increase. With the help of urgent care facilities, though, lower health insurance policies are possible.

Urgent care facilities operate much like hospitals do, except they are not open 24 hours a day like hospitals are. Essentially, urgent care facilities are more like a hybrid of both hospitals and doctor's offices since they provide much of the same care as both places combined. There are a number of reasons why these facilities help lower health insurance costs.

These facilities are dedicated to providing medical care for persons who do not want to visit a hospital. In fact, the purpose of urgent care facilities is to care for patients with injuries or illnesses that aren't severe enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. So for cuts and bruises that are fairly serious, or even a severe cold or flu, a patient can be seen at an urgent care facility. Also, the wait times are often much shorter since many of these facilities don't have operating rooms and can see more patients a lot faster. Many of the urgent care facilities function on an unscheduled and walk-in basis, allowing people to come in just like in a hospital, but be seen quicker like in a doctor's office.

Because these facilities don't run 24 hours a day, and because they don't need as big a staff as hospitals, they are able to keep their overhead and costs down. These costs are then passed on to patients and the insurance companies, including government sponsored programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Currently, there are only a handful of these facilities per city and sometimes per state. However, if they were to have more open throughout the nation, the financial burden often taken by hospitals would be decreased. This can mean significant savings for people looking for health insurance. In fact, the overall costs to go to an urgent care facility are also lower, which helps lower insurance costs.