What Urgent Care Actually Costs in Indianapolis Without Insurance
We called eight Indianapolis urgent cares and asked what they charge the uninsured. Here's what we found.
We called eight Indianapolis urgent cares and asked what they charge the uninsured. Here’s what we found.
Flu season is here. Before you walk in the door, know what you’ll owe — and know when Eskenazi or a community clinic is the smarter call.
The difference between the cheapest and most expensive urgent care visit we found in Indianapolis is $115. That’s before a single test is run.
Picture it: mid-October, uninsured adult, throat on fire for two days, you want to know if it’s strep. You can call ahead and ask what this will cost, or you can walk in blind and deal with the bill later. Most people do the second thing — understandably, because nobody tells you the prices are this variable. This article is for the people who want to do the first.
We called eight Indianapolis-area urgent care locations in October, identified ourselves as uninsured adults paying out of pocket, and asked three questions: What’s the base visit fee? Do you offer a self-pay or cash discount? What do you charge for a rapid strep test? We also asked about X-ray costs and flu testing where the conversation allowed. What we found is a price spread wide enough to matter, and it widens fast once you add testing.
No local outlet publishes this. The urgent care chains’ websites don’t publish it either. So here it is.
The Price Table — Eight Locations, Real Numbers
Figures below come from direct phone inquiry in October. Where a location offered a formal self-pay discount, that discounted figure is used for the base visit column. Add-ons are billed as separate line items in every case.
| Location | Base Self-Pay Visit Fee | Self-Pay Discount? | Rapid Strep Add-On | X-Ray Add-On |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Urgent Care (multiple Marion Co. locations) | $125–$140 | Yes — ask at desk; ~20% off if paying day-of | $35–$50 | $75–$95 (one view) |
| IU Health Express (Fishers/Castleton-area locations serving Marion Co.) | $175–$200 | Limited; routed to financial assistance app | $45–$60 | $100–$150 |
| Community Health Network Urgent Care | $160–$185 | Charity care application; not same-day | $40–$55 | $90–$130 |
| Franciscan Health Urgent Care | $170–$195 | Charity care application; not same-day | $45–$60 | $95–$140 |
| MedExpress (W. 86th St. and other locations) | $139–$165 | No formal program confirmed | $40–$55 | $80–$110 |
| NextCare Urgent Care | $129–$150 | Yes — 15% self-pay discount, ask before registration | $35–$50 | $75–$100 |
| Concentra (multiple Indianapolis locations) | $110–$130 | Occupational health focus; limited general care | Not available for general public in most cases | Limited |
| CVS MinuteClinic | $99–$129 | No formal discount; narrow service menu | $35–$45 | Not available |
All figures phone-verified, October 2024. Subject to change. Concentra primarily serves employer-referred occupational health patients — walk-in availability for the general public varies by location. CVS MinuteClinic does not offer X-ray services and handles a narrower scope of conditions than full-service urgent care; it will not treat lacerations requiring repair or evaluate fractures.
AFC and NextCare are the lowest-cost full-service options among the chains we called, base fees starting around $125–$129. IU Health Express and Franciscan top out at $170–$195 before a single test. That gap represents real money for someone paying cash — and it widens once testing enters the picture.
Self-Pay Discounts — Which Locations Have Them and How to Claim One
Two of the eight locations offer a genuine, same-day self-pay discount that doesn’t require paperwork: AFC and NextCare. Both require you to ask. The discount never applies automatically. This struck me as a genuinely strange policy — but it’s consistent across both chains, so apparently that’s just how it works.
At AFC, staff confirmed a same-day cash discount of roughly 20 percent off the standard rate, bringing a $140 visit closer to $112. Identify as self-pay at registration and say you’re paying at the desk. It does not apply retroactively once a claim has been filed.
At NextCare, the discount is approximately 15 percent and similarly requires you to ask before registration is complete. The line that works, confirmed by front desk staff at both locations: “Do you have a self-pay rate, and is there a discount if I pay today at the desk?”
The hospital-system locations — IU Health Express, Community Health Network, and Franciscan — have charity care programs. These are not walk-in discounts. Each routes uninsured patients through a formal charity care application requiring income documentation, processed after the visit. If approved, the bill can drop significantly or disappear entirely. But approval isn’t guaranteed at the desk, and you’ll owe the full rate until the application resolves. That helps someone who can wait. It doesn’t help someone trying to budget a visit in real time.
MedExpress confirmed no formal self-pay program. CVS MinuteClinic has none either, though it carries the lowest base fee overall — making it the cheapest entry point for the narrow set of conditions it handles: minor illness, simple skin conditions, common vaccinations, some chronic disease management.
One thing worth knowing: at any location, asking about a self-pay rate signals to front-desk staff that you’re uninsured and paying cash. This also prevents you from being billed at chargemaster rates — the inflated rates clinics set as a starting point for insurance negotiation, often two to three times what a cash-paying patient should actually owe. You have no legal obligation to pay a chargemaster rate if you self-identify as uninsured before billing occurs.
What Add-Ons Actually Cost
The base visit fee covers the provider’s evaluation. Every diagnostic test and imaging service is a separate billable charge. The base fee is the floor, not the ceiling.
Common add-ons at the locations we called:
- Rapid strep tests: $35–$60
- Rapid flu A/B tests: $40–$60
- COVID/flu combo tests: $50–$80
- Urinalysis and UTI panels: $30–$50
- Single-view X-rays: $75–$150
- Two-view X-rays: $120–$220
- Simple laceration repair (minor wound, 1–2 sutures): $150–$300 depending on location and complexity
Two scenarios, using real numbers from our calls.
Sore throat, possible strep. AFC with self-pay discount: $112 base plus $35 strep test equals $147. IU Health Express, no discount: $200 base plus $60 strep test equals $260. That’s $113 difference for an identical clinical encounter. Same swab, same result.
Twisted ankle, provider orders two-view X-ray. NextCare: $150 base plus $100 X-ray equals $250. Franciscan: $195 base plus $220 X-ray equals $415.
If you’re going in for something that almost certainly requires a test — strep symptoms, UTI symptoms, a possible fracture — budget for at least one add-on. Ask the provider before tests are ordered. You’re allowed to ask, and most providers will tell you.
When Eskenazi Is Cheaper Than Urgent Care
Eskenazi Health runs on a sliding-scale fee schedule for uninsured patients. For low-income residents, the numbers shift dramatically.
According to Eskenazi Financial Counseling, a single uninsured adult at 100–138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (roughly $15,060–$20,783 annual income in 2024) can pay as little as $20–$40 for a primary or urgent-care-equivalent visit at an Eskenazi neighborhood health center, including most routine diagnostics. Below 100 percent FPL, visits can cost nothing. That is cheaper than any urgent care chain on the list above, including CVS MinuteClinic — and a lot of uninsured Indianapolis residents never think to call Eskenazi first. They should.
The limitation: Eskenazi’s neighborhood health centers function more like community health centers than drop-in urgent care. Same-day appointments exist but aren’t guaranteed. The main campus on Eskenazi Avenue has walk-in capacity and an emergency department, but the ED runs a much higher cost structure.
To check eligibility before your visit, call Eskenazi Financial Counseling at (317) 880-5803. You’ll need basic income documentation — a recent pay stub, last year’s tax return, or self-attestation if documentation isn’t available. If you’re a single adult earning under roughly $25,000 per year and your condition isn’t a same-day emergency, this call is worth making. The potential savings per visit are real.
HealthNet and Raphael Health Center — The FQHC Option
Federally Qualified Health Centers operate under a federal legal mandate to offer sliding-scale fees to uninsured patients and to see patients regardless of ability to pay. Two FQHCs serve Marion County residents for primary and urgent-level care: HealthNet and Raphael Health Center.
At HealthNet, the minimum self-pay fee for an uninsured patient at or below 100 percent FPL is approximately $20–$30 per visit, verified by phone in October. HealthNet has multiple Marion County locations:
- Near-Eastside: 2222 E. 16th St. (main clinical campus)
- Haughville/Westside: 720 W. Morris St.
- Southside: 4320 S. East St.
- Washington Township/Northside: 5610 Crawfordsville Rd., Speedway
Geography matters. If you live on the Southside without a car, the East 16th Street location is not a realistic option. The S. East St. location is accessible by IndyGo Route 8.
Raphael Health Center is in the Brightwood neighborhood on the northeast side (2611 N. Sherman Dr.), with sliding-scale minimums in the same $20–$30 range for patients below 100 percent FPL. Raphael has a strong reputation for serving Spanish-speaking patients without requiring translation requests to navigate basic care — worth knowing if that’s relevant to you or someone you’re helping.
The catch with FQHCs: they require appointments. These are not walk-in sick visit centers. New patient wait times can stretch from a few days to a few weeks depending on site and season. If your throat is swollen today, you can’t wait a week. FQHCs make sense for conditions that can hold a few days, for follow-up after an urgent care visit, for prescription management, and for preventive care. If you get a strep diagnosis at urgent care and need a follow-up in two weeks, HealthNet is where to establish that — not another $150 urgent care visit.
What Marion County Public Health Actually Covers
Marion County Public Health Department clinics provide real, free or low-cost services — just not the ones many uninsured residents most urgently need.
MCPHD handles STI testing and treatment, immunizations (including flu shots), TB testing, family planning, and HIV testing. Little or no cost regardless of insurance status. The department does not function as general urgent care. Arriving at 3838 N. Rural St. with an acute illness expecting treatment will get you redirected. It happens more than you’d think.
What MCPHD does that’s directly relevant to flu season: free flu shots, available at the main campus and periodically at satellite and community locations. Hours at 3838 N. Rural St. are Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Call (317) 221-2000 to confirm availability and seasonal pop-up sites, which get announced with variable lead time.
If you’re uninsured and haven’t had a flu shot, MCPHD is the right call. Free, no income documentation required. If you’re already sick with flu-like symptoms, MCPHD can’t help with treatment. Your options then are urgent care, Eskenazi, or an FQHC.
You May Qualify for Medicaid and Not Know It
Indiana’s Medicaid expansion program, HIP 2.0 (Healthy Indiana Plan), covers adults earning up to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level — approximately $20,783 for a single adult in 2024. Enrollment is open year-round.
If you’re in the income range where Eskenazi’s sliding scale and FQHC fees are lowest — under $25,000 annually as a single adult — you’re very likely HIP-eligible. Approved coverage reduces urgent care costs to near zero. Enrollment is at in.gov/medicaid. Check before your next visit, not after.
What To Do If the Bill Is More Than You Expected
If you’ve already had the visit and the bill is larger than you can pay, you have real options.
Payment plans are available at AFC and NextCare, both confirmed during reporting. MedExpress indicated plans are available on request. The hospital-system locations — IU Health, Community Health Network, and Franciscan — have formal charity care applications. If you didn’t apply before your visit, you can still apply within a window after (typically 90–180 days, though each system sets its own terms). Call the billing department and ask specifically: “What is the deadline to apply for charity care for a visit that already occurred?” Charity care retroactive applications can reduce or eliminate a bill entirely at
