If you have insurance, an urgent care center is typically much cheaper and faster than an ER visit, for non-life-threatening injuries.

Urgent cares don’t do surgery. My preference is always ER if there’s a major injury that might require surgery.

A lot of urgent cares don't do much at all. Many don't even do X-Rays. Most are basically just there to treat very-minor, clean, uncomplicated, superficial injuries, and to tell you "yep, that thing you already knew is a sinus infection is a sinus infection, here's a prescription for antibiotics" when it's a weekend and you can't see a normal doctor, or the normal doctor's wait time is too long.

No, I didn’t go to the ER. That sounds expensive, and I am a cheap bastard.

I suggest reading this reddit post about hospital billing [1]. You certainly have options other than paying a shitload or leaving your arm untreated. Money can be negotiated, but you only get one body.

Edit: I see elsewhere in the thread you have health insurance. If you're paying for it, utilize it. You're in a better position to deal with this than uninsured people.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/x9b7vm/im_p...

Your untreated joint injury has a strong chance of winding up much more expensive later, especially if you develop chronic symptoms that make it difficult to work.

Joints are critical. I can't judge without knowing a situation, but I wouldn't want to live my life with a fucked up elbow because I didn't go to the doctor.

When I was briefly without insurance between jobs, I went on a desert hike and was scared about getting injured, so I get it.

ER's have separate deductibles. $500-$2K is pretty typical just to walk in the door.

HMO's usually require referrals. PPO's usually need no referrals and you can go many more places.