Crucial Care was a unique concept when it opened in Jacksonville two years ago ? emergency room services and urgent care in a low-cost, efficient, non-hospital setting. But it?s the company?s latest offering to employers looking for relief from escalating health insurance costs that really has heads turning.
It?s a simple idea to contract with businesses to offer its services at a low, fixed cost, similar to the agreements negotiated between insurance companies and doctors. It isn?t an insurance plan, but it looks a lot like one.
Businesses pay a monthly cost of $35 per employee, which gives employees unlimited access to Crucial Care services for a $35 co-pay per visit.
That means a CAT scan would cost $35 versus $2,000 or more elsewhere. Lab work and treatment for conditions as serious as a heart attack or a car accident cost $35. Minor ailments traditionally covered in urgent care clinics like the flu, ear infections and cuts also cost $35.