Urgent Care or the ER in Berks County: Where to Go and Costs

If you're deciding on a Saturday night between urgent care or the ER in Berks County, start with how the health systems themselves describe the two doors, which is in nearly the same words. Urgent care, in their words, is walk-in care for minor illnesses and injuries that aren't life-threatening but need attention now, and the emergency room is for serious problems that need care right away. The county has walk-in urgent care centers in Berks County in every direction and two hospital emergency rooms, and the bill looks different at each door.

How do Berks County's health systems describe urgent care and the emergency room?

Tower Health calls urgent care the place for a condition that is "not life-threatening" but needs "immediate medical attention," and Lehigh Valley Health Network says the emergency room is "for serious health issues." Penn State Health says to "call 911 or come right to the emergency room if you are systemically sick."

What do the emergency rooms say belongs in the ER?

No list names every emergency. St. Luke's says to "seek emergency care or call 911 for serious conditions such as: chest pain or shortness of breath; stroke symptoms like facial drooping or slurred speech; severe trauma or deep wounds; broken bones piercing the skin; loss of consciousness or uncontrolled bleeding."

The American College of Emergency Physicians' undated patient booklet, "Is It an Emergency?", lists "difficulty breathing, shortness of breath," "chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure lasting two minutes or more," "fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness" and "confusion or changes in mental status." For children it adds "fever accompanied by change in behavior" and "skin or lips that look blue or purple." Babies get a line of their own from Tower Health, whose urgent care FAQ says "All children less than 30 days old should be seen in an ED for a fever over 101.3 degrees." An ED is an emergency department.

What do the urgent care centers say they treat?

The urgent care centers' own lists are the everyday things. Tower Health's runs from "cold or flu" and "sore throat" through "minor lacerations," "pink eye," "minor sprains or strains" and "sports or school physicals."

The operators' pages say this much: Tower Health, St. Luke's Care Now, JeffExpress, Patient First and MedSurg have X-ray on site, and Tower Health, Penn State Health, St. Luke's, JeffExpress (children up to age 21) and MedSurg see children, and MedSurg says to call first for an X-ray, since its X-ray staffing varies by day.

Everything above is general information, not a decision made for you. If you've got a question about your own situation tonight, call your doctor, a nurse line or the clinic's phone and ask. Anything that may be life-threatening is a 911 call, and our emergency services guide for Berks County covers who answers it.

Where are the urgent care centers and emergency rooms in Berks County?

The county's urgent care centers spread north, east and west of Reading, and all take walk-ins.

Urgent care center	Address and phone	Hours	Without insurance
Tower Health Urgent Care, Wyomissing	2101 State Hill Rd, Ste 5; 610-898-2490	8 to 8 every day	Fixed self-pay schedule; call
Tower Health Urgent Care, Exeter	4603 Perkiomen Ave, Reading; 484-750-3895	8 to 8 every day	Fixed schedule; call
Tower Health Urgent Care, Douglassville	1139 Ben Franklin Hwy W, Ste 114; 610-385-4444	8 to 8 every day	Fixed schedule; call
Tower Health Urgent Care, Sinking Spring	4860 Penn Ave; 484-659-1520	8 to 8 every day	Fixed schedule; call
Penn State Health Urgent Care, Muhlenberg	4301 N 5th St Hwy, Ste 101, Temple; 610-208-8801	Weekdays 8 to 8; weekends 8 to 4	No price posted
Penn State Health Urgent Care, Strausstown	44 East Ave; 610-488-9790	Weekdays 8 to 8; weekends 8 to 4	No price posted
Penn State Health Urgent Care, Maidencreek	108 Plaza Dr, Ste 101, Blandon; 610-208-4650	Weekdays 1 p.m. to 8; weekends 8 to 4	No price posted
St. Luke's Care Now, Kutztown	15065 Kutztown Rd, Ste 100; 484-822-8001	Weekdays 8 to 8; weekends 8 to 4	No price posted
St. Luke's Care Now, Spring Township	2701 Shillington Rd, Ste 100, Reading; 484-822-6170	Weekdays 8 to 8; weekends 8 to 4	No price posted
St. Luke's Care Now, Hamburg	9 Dave's Way; 610-628-7200	Weekdays 8 to 8; weekends 8 to 4	No price posted
JeffExpress Urgent Care, Moselem Springs	14351 Kutztown Rd, Fleetwood; 610-944-8800	8 to 8, 365 days a year	No price posted
Patient First, Wyomissing	2600 Paper Mill Rd; 484-220-0051	8 to 8, 365 days a year	Routine visit $155; add-ons extra; capped at $350
MedSurg Urgent Care, Wyomissing	1025 Berkshire Blvd, Ste 600A; 610-871-3212	Mon to Thu 8 to 8; Fri 8 to 6; Sat 9 to 3; Sun closed	Regular visit $120; follow-up $65

This table has every center these six operators list in Berks County, from their own pages as of October 28, 2026; hours shift on holidays. Patient First's prices are for patients with no government or participating private plan; MedSurg says its prices can change.

The north has Hamburg, Kutztown, Strausstown, Blandon, Fleetwood and Temple; the east has Exeter and Douglassville; the west has Sinking Spring and Spring Township; Wyomissing has three.

Two hospital emergency rooms sit inside the county. Reading Hospital's, in West Reading, is open 24/7 and is a Level I trauma center, a hospital set up for the most serious injuries. Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center's is on Bernville Road in Bern Township.

What does an emergency room visit cost in Berks County?

A hospital emergency room has to see you whether or not you can pay: a federal law called EMTALA requires every Medicare-participating hospital ER to give everyone who comes in "a medical screening examination" and "stabilizing treatment" "regardless of an individual's ability to pay." That's a right to be seen, not a free visit; the bill still comes.

The hospitals post price files that cover the visit itself; tests, imaging, drugs and supplies are extra. Reading Hospital's file, dated June 1, 2026, lists the hospital's charge for an ER visit at five levels, from the simplest visit to the most involved: $365 to $2,971. The doctor's charge for the same visit is a separate line, $162 to $1,001, and every one of those lines carries a "discounted cash" price at 70 percent of the charge, a 30 percent discount. St. Joseph's file, dated March 27, 2026, sets its cash prices on its own scale: ER visit levels from $572 to $3,985, with cash prices from $149 to $1,037.

Reading Hospital gives free care for a household at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, the income line the government sets by household size, and Reading Hospital's bill help has the details; St. Joseph gives free care at or below 300 percent to patients ineligible for government or other coverage (St. Joseph's financial assistance).

With insurance, the No Surprises Act means the ER can't charge you more than your plan's in-network cost-sharing, the copay, deductible or coinsurance you'd owe in network, and that protection doesn't reach a stand-alone urgent care center, one that isn't part of a hospital. Without insurance, providers must give you a good faith estimate, a written cost estimate, when you schedule care at least three business days ahead or ask for one. You won't get one during emergency care, and a bill at least $400 over the estimate can be disputed within 120 days for a $25 fee.

What does urgent care cost with and without insurance?

With insurance you'll usually pay a bigger copay, the fixed amount your plan charges per visit, at the ER than at urgent care. One Pennsylvania individual plan's benefit summary for 2026 prints "Emergency room care $350 copay/visit," waived if you're admitted, against "Urgent care $30 copay/visit." Nationally, among people with employer insurance, the average price of an ER visit was $2,256 in 2022 against $220 for an urgent care visit.

Without insurance, the printed prices come from Patient First and MedSurg. Patient First's Pennsylvania self-pay program lists a routine visit at $155 and add-ons priced separately (stitches are a $130 add-on), with "Visit charge plus add-ons capped at $350" (prescriptions, injectable medications, vaccines and outside labs sit outside the cap), and it's only for patients with no government plan and no private plan it participates with. MedSurg Urgent Care in Wyomissing prints a regular visit at $120 and an X-ray per body part at $99.

Tower Health says its self-pay schedule is "fixed" and payable in full at the visit; Penn State Health, St. Luke's Care Now and JeffExpress print no self-pay price, so ask by phone. If you're on Medical Assistance, Pennsylvania's name for Medicaid, you pay no copay for "any services during an emergency situation" (the copay applies if the provider doesn't agree it was a true emergency), and St. Luke's Care Now and Berks Community Health Center, a federally funded community health center in Reading, both say they accept Medicaid. CHIP, the state's health insurance for children, has a free tier with "no premiums or copays."

Questions people ask about urgent care and the ER in Berks County.

Does the emergency room have to see me if I can't pay?

Yes. The federal screening law requires a hospital ER to examine you and stabilize you regardless of your ability to pay. The bill still arrives afterward.

Can I walk into urgent care without insurance?

Yes. Patient First's self-pay program starts at $155 with a $350 cap, MedSurg's regular visit is $120, and Tower Health charges a fixed schedule it doesn't print. Patient First's program is only for patients with no government plan and no private plan it participates with.

Who can I call when I'm not sure which door is right?

Every operator's pages say to call 911 in an emergency. Lehigh Valley Health Network runs a nurse line around the clock at 888-402-5846, option 4, and patients of Berks Community Health Center can reach an on-call provider after hours at 610-988-4838.

The urgent care centers in Berks County page is where you find the nearest walk-in door and its hours. For a regular doctor, see how to find a doctor taking new patients in Berks County and our guide to healthcare providers in Berks County.

Sources

• Tower Health, "Urgent Care Locations" and the Wyomissing, Exeter, Douglassville and Sinking Spring location pages (read October 28, 2026): addresses, phones, hours and the self-pay paragraph; "Urgent Care FAQs": walk-in, X-ray, all ages, the newborn-fever sentence, the fixed self-pay schedule and the ER question; "Urgent Care": the conditions list.
• Penn State Health, "Get Care Now" (read October 28, 2026): the emergency, urgent care and walk-in lists; the Muhlenberg, Strausstown and Maidencreek pages: addresses, phones and each center's own hours.
• St. Luke's, "Care Now" (read October 28, 2026): the conditions list, the ER list, walk-in, copays and insurance; the Kutztown, Spring Township and Hamburg pages: addresses, phones, hours and the 2026 holiday schedules; "St. Luke's Emergency Rooms": none in Berks.
• Lehigh Valley Health Network, "JeffExpress Urgent Care-Moselem Springs" (read October 28, 2026): address, phone, hours and the conditions list; "JeffExpress Urgent Care": care for children up to age 21; "Urgent Care vs. ER vs. Injury Center vs. Virtual": its ER list and the nurse line; "Emergency Care": its emergency rooms, none in Berks.
• Patient First, Wyomissing (read October 28, 2026): address, phone and hours; "Pennsylvania Self-Pay Program for Patients Without Insurance": the $155 visit, the add-on prices, the $350 cap and who the program is for.
• MedSurg Urgent Care, "Locations" (read October 28, 2026): the Wyomissing address, phone and hours; "Self-Pay / No Insurance": the $120 visit, the $65 follow-up, the X-ray and EKG prices and the subject-to-change line.
• American College of Emergency Physicians, "Is It An Emergency?" (patient booklet, undated): the warning signs for adults and children and the drive-or-ambulance questions.
• Tower Health, "Emergency Department Reading Hospital" (read October 28, 2026): address, phone, 24/7, Fast Track, pediatrics, the trauma center and parking; "Pediatric Emergency Department": the conditions list including fever under two months; Penn State Health, "St. Joseph Medical Center - Emergency": address and phone.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA)" (last modified March 10, 2026) and "Know Your Rights" (PDF): the screening exam and stabilizing treatment regardless of ability to pay, and no delay to ask about payment.
• Tower Health, "Price Transparency" and Reading Hospital standard charges file (dated June 1, 2026): the emergency visit levels (CPT 99281 to 99285), the hospital and physician lines and the discounted cash column; Reading Hospital, Patient Financial Assistance Policy (revised April 2026): the uninsured rate, the free-care line at 200 percent of poverty and the capped bands to 400 percent.
• Penn State Health, "Hospital Price Transparency" and St. Joseph Medical Center standard charges file (dated March 27, 2026): the emergency visit levels and discounted cash prices; Penn State Health, PFS-053 Financial Assistance Policy (effective February 2026): free care at or below 300 percent of poverty.
• Health Care Cost Institute, "Urgent Care Spending Increased by 50% over 5 years driven by Higher Use" (January 28, 2026; 2018 to 2022 employer-insurance claims): the average ER and urgent care visit prices and the urinary tract infection out-of-pocket figures.
• Highmark, Summary of Benefits and Coverage, my Priority Blue Flex PPO Premier Gold 0 (coverage period January 1 to December 31, 2026): one Pennsylvania plan's $350 emergency room copay and $30 urgent care copay.
• CMS, "Know your medical bill rights" (last modified October 1, 2026), "when using insurance", "when not using insurance" (October 5, 2026) and "Dispute a medical bill" (October 2, 2026): the No Surprises Act's emergency protection, the good faith estimate, the $400 threshold, the 120 days and the $25 fee.
• Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, "Copayment Information for Medical Assistance Recipients": no copay in an emergency and the copay table; "CHIP Eligibility and Benefits": free CHIP has no premiums or copays.
• Berks Community Health Center, "After Hours Care" and "Walk-In Sick Visits" (read October 28, 2026): the on-call line for its patients, the walk-in hours for current patients, and the insurance it accepts.