As the trade association for the Urgent Care industry, UCA actively works to educate members of Congress, state and local legislators and federal regulatory agencies about Urgent Care issues.
We work to inspire change that supports the Urgent Care industry and the patients we serve.
Commercial payers spend millions of dollars per year to lobby for their cause. We need our voices to be heard in Congress but to do that, we need your help.
Contribute $10 today so we can Take Action towards ensuring a bright future for Urgent Care!
Every bit of support helps advance Urgent Care priorities. Thank you for your support of this essential component of healthcare.
Interested in being an Advocate for Urgent Care? Contact us to learn about how you can help.
Latest News
January 17, 2024 | Champions for Letter to CMS Secured
December 15, 2023 | Urge Congress to Fix Medicare Physician Payment Cuts | New Florida ED Rules May Require Agreement with Urgent Cares
Click the points below to view our Advocacy efforts to date and plan for the future.
Strategy evaluation for pathway to fair payment
Advocacy promotes problem solving and participation, influences laws and policies, and educates the greater community.
Hired lobbying firm McDermott+
The McDermott+ team has specific and relevant experience in engaging political and policy professionals and elected officials from both sides of the aisle.
Champions:
Goal: Gather 30+ more signatures before we present the letter to CMS.
Details TBA
We want to hear your stories! Share your independent Advocacy initiatives by emailing Advocacy Manager Kristin Rastatter.
Thank you to these organizations for supporting Urgent Care Advocacy! We couldn’t do it without you.
PhysicianOne Urgent Care
Next Level Urgent Care
PM Pediatric Care
Doctors Care
CRH Healthcare
Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care
American Family Care, Inc.
Mercy Urgent Care
Priority 1 Urgent Care
Premier Health
Kamin Health
Patriot Urgent Care
Professionals PC
MedSurg Urgent Care
MyCare Express Care
Everyday Urgent Care
Doctors on Duty
Davam Urgent Care
Gateway Urgent Care
BayCare Urgent Care
Reliant Immediate Care
TeamHealth
Quixote Capital
OccDocOne
Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center
The purpose of Advocacy is to support, defend, or champion a specific cause or issue. Advocacy also allows individuals to bring about change by raising public awareness, increasing support, or influencing policy for a certain issue.
Advocacy promotes problem solving and participation, influences laws and policies, and educates the greater community.
Urgent Care needs a strong voice and strategy to ensure our sustainability and long-term success as an essential piece of the healthcare ecosystem. Our Advocacy efforts will influence healthcare policy and systems by raising awareness, mobilizing support, and effecting change.
We have one objective: Improved reimbursement for Urgent Care.
To reach our goal of improved reimbursement for Urgent Care, we are actively working to educate members of Congress, state and local legislators and federal regulatory agencies about Urgent Care issues.
We will do this by:
We are pursuing this federal strategy because that’s how we will defend your interests at the national level, and gaining the backing of Congress fosters connections to influence future changes in the private payer sector. As government payers provide more individuals with healthcare coverage, this trend confirms our belief that this groundwork will lead to long-term changes with private payers as well.
No one we have spoken with at CMS opposes the fact that Urgent Care should receive federal support for its role in directing non-emergencies away from the emergency department. But CMS is overwhelmed, and many others are contending for its attention and resources. Congress can impact which projects CMS carries out, and that is the method we are working on now. We have a bi-partisan letter led by four House representatives, and we’re pursuing additional supporters. We will also prepare a letter in the Senate.
Non-life-threatening, urgent health concerns should be handled in the appropriate setting of an Urgent Care center, to ease the pressure on EDs and in turn the overall burden on the healthcare system.
In order to continue our lobbying work – which has been quite successful to date! – and ensure the success of our forthcoming national PR campaign, we must raise funds to support these efforts.
Through hosting local activities, meeting with government officials, sharing our national messaging and participating in our fundraising initiatives, you are helping to ensure we reach our goal of higher reimbursement for Urgent Care.
Reach out to our Advocacy Manager Kristin Rastatter at krastatter@urgentcareassociation.org