An Arizona-based insurance provider is making waves by offering a first-of-its-kind employer insurance coverage plan that would effectively turn urgent care centers in Dallas, Texas into primary care providers. Nextcare, the insurer in question, is pairing with Physician Care Direct out of North Carolina to offer this new plan that will allow employees in the Metroplex to opt-in to the Primacare system of urgent care facilities under the Employer Health Ownership Plan. In effect, this means any employee that opts into this primary care coverage as part of a work benefits package can seek treatment — and have it covered — at 13 separate locations in North Texas.

Just Another Sign That Urgent Care Facilities Are the Future
It’s not too hard to see why news of the unique insurance program is leaving so many traditional healthcare providers trying to survive the wake. That being said, the development also shouldn’t be seen as surprising. From 2009 to 2014, urgent care facilities across the United States showed annual growth of 8.2%. According to statistics from the Urgent Care Association of America, the number of centers spread across the country has exploded to 9,000.

The shift has pushed the urgent care industry in the U.S. to one that is now worth an estimated $14.5 billion. As traditional healthcare facilities and urgent care centers work to define their roles in the modern healthcare environment, everyone from insurance providers to the ordinary citizen is having to adjust. Once the dust settles, you can be sure that Nextcare will be just the first of many insurance providers bringing urgent care into the fold.

If you had the option to choose primary care coverage for urgent care facilities in your area, would you jump at the chance? Let us know why or why not in the comment section below.