Urgent Care and Emergency Services Coverage

What is urgent care?

Urgent care is for health problems that need attention within 48 hours to prevent serious harm. This includes sudden illness, injury or problems with a condition you already have. It is not for an emergency or life-threatening condition.

For emergencies, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

How do I find urgent care?

If you think you need urgent care:

• Call your primary care provider (PCP).
• If their office is closed or they are unavailable, you may be able to visit another provider without a referral.

This is called an urgent visit. It allows you to visit a provider’s office that is not your PCP without needing a referral from your PCP.

You can also contact the 24/7 Nurse Advice Line at 844-971-8907 (TTY: Dial 711). They will help you decide if you need urgent care or if it’s okay to wait for a regular visit with your PCP.

To find urgent care near you, click your county below to see a list of urgent visit offices.

• Mariposa County.
• Merced County.
• Monterey County.
• San Benito County.
• Santa Cruz County.

For the most up-to-date information, you can search the online Provider Directory for PCP offices that provide urgent visits.

1. Go to the Provider Directory.
2. Select your health plan.
3. Select Primary Care Providers (PCP).
4. Select "Urgent Visit Access Offices" and select your county.

When and how do I use emergency care?

Emergency care is for serious, life-threatening problems. This means conditions with severe pain, bad injuries, or other problems that, without fast help, could cause:

• Serious harm to your health.
• Serious damage to your body that affects how it works.
• Problems with an organ or body part.

The emergency room (ER) is not for routine health care. It is for health problems that could put your health or your unborn baby’s health in danger if you do not get care right away.

Get emergency care for:

• A broken bone.
• Severe pain, especially in the chest.
• Severe burns.
• Poisoning or drug overdose.
• Fainting.
• Severe bleeding.
• Psychiatric emergency, including thoughts of hurting yourself.
• Trouble breathing.
• Sudden, bad headache.
• Suddenly not being able to speak, see, walk or move.
• Seizures.
• Head or eye injury.

If you are not sure if your medical condition is an emergency, call your primary care provider (PCP). You may also call the 24/7 Nurse Advice Line.

Did you go to the emergency room in the past few days?

If so, you might be wondering what to do next. Find out what you can do next to stay healthy and not have to go back to the emergency room.