“Health effects of urgent care center entry: The case of WellNow,” co-authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Eliane Barker and Stephen Wu, the Irma M. and Robert D. Morris Professor of Economics, appears in the May issue of the journal Economics & Human Biology, published by Elsevier. The article is available online now.
Their research “shows that the entry of WellNow Urgent Care into upstate New York has led to improved individual health and has lessened the burden on the existing health care system,” Wu said, adding that he and Barker “did not receive any funding and had no conflicts of interest for the research – but it just happens that the results show these benefits.”
Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and both two-way fixed regressions and robust event study models, they studied the effects of having WellNow Urgent Care centers in upstate New York. They found that having WellNow in an area had significant effects, including:
- Improvements in individual health outcomes.
- A decrease in the strain on the local health care system.
- Shortened ER wait times and an increased likelihood of individuals getting regular health checkups.
The research also showed that “that following the entry of a WellNow urgent care facility in one’s county of residence, individuals report an improvement in their general health and a decrease in the number of days spent in poor physical health.”
In addition, analysis of data in the Health Care Utilization Project from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicated “only modest effects of urgent care center (UCC) entry on various measures of hospital-level outcomes,” and that the entry of a new WellNow facility has “only small and insignificant impacts on hospital usage.”
According to its website, WellNow Urgent Care was founded in 2012 as “a faster, simpler way to receive expert medical care.”
Posted March 30, 2026
