Cough, phlegm and chest congestion after a cold? A clinician looks for warning signs, suggests relief, and explains when antibiotics help.
Yes, for adults 18 and older in Texas. Cough, phlegm and chest congestion after a cold? A clinician looks for warning signs, suggests relief, and explains when antibiotics help. Review is by a Texas-licensed Passion Health clinician, 24/7 on weekdays and 7 AM–9 PM CT on weekends. The flat price is $59, or use insurance. A prescription goes to the pharmacy you choose only if it's appropriate; controlled medicines are never prescribed online. If you have streaks of blood in what you cough up, you need to be seen in person today instead (at our Dallas–Fort Worth clinics, or urgent care near you), and you don't pay the online fee.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Anantha Chentha, MD, Chief Quality Medical Officer, Passion Health · October 22, 2026
Acute bronchitis, often called a chest cold, is swelling of the airways in the lungs that causes a cough, often with phlegm. It's usually caused by the same viruses that cause colds and flu. The cough can last up to 3 weeks, and bronchitis is more likely if you smoke or have asthma.
Yellow or green phlegm is common with a chest cold and doesn't by itself mean you have a bacterial infection or need antibiotics. How you feel matters more: fever that won't go away, shortness of breath, or coughing up blood need a closer look.
Chest congestion is the heavy, rattly feeling of mucus in your airways, and it usually clears as the cough settles. If it comes with fever that won't go away, fast breathing or wheezing, your clinician will want to check for pneumonia or an asthma flare.
Not near one of our clinics? Online Care is open to adults anywhere in Texas; our clinics are in Dallas–Fort Worth. If the safety questions or your clinician show you need to be examined, we tell you what kind of care you need and how soon — an emergency room, an urgent care center, or a clinician near you. If you've already paid, the full fee is refunded and you get a written summary of your visit to take with you.
Also call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke signs, a sudden severe headache, fainting, a seizure, severe bleeding, new confusion, throat swelling, an overdose or thoughts of harming someone else — and call or text 988 for thoughts of harming yourself. If screening routes you before you pay, nothing is charged. If a clinician routes you after you've paid, the full fee is refunded.
About 5 minutes, with photos if they help. Emergency and safety questions come first.
A Texas-licensed Passion Health clinician reads everything and calls or videos you if they need more.
If treatment is appropriate, a prescription goes to the pharmacy you choose.
A 48-hour check-in and secure messaging. If you need to be seen, a same-day visit at our Dallas–Fort Worth clinics, or clear advice on where to go near you.
Shown so you know what to expect. The reviewing clinician decides what, if anything, is appropriate for you — a prescription is never guaranteed, and controlled medicines are never prescribed online.
Using insurance: we're in network with BCBS of Texas, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Humana and Healthcare Highways, and we verify eligibility for every plan before review — you see your estimated cost-share first. New patients have a short video visit, because plans pay for a visit, not a form. Same-day review applies to self-pay visits; insurance visits begin once we've verified your plan, which is the next business morning if you submit overnight or on a weekend. Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and TRICARE are billed to the program, and the cash rate isn't offered for covered services.
Full refund if your case isn't accepted: if the clinician doesn't accept your case for online care, for any reason, the full fee is refunded to your card within 10 business days, and we help you get the care you need: a same-day visit at one of our Dallas–Fort Worth clinics or, if you're not near one, clear advice on where to be seen and a written summary of your visit. With insurance, no claim is submitted for the online review. Paying the flat price yourself? You can ask for a written Good Faith Estimate before your visit.
Labs and imaging, if needed, are billed separately, and medication is paid at your pharmacy. Passion Health doesn't sell, ship or mark up medication.
A 48-hour check-in message and 14 days of secure messaging. If you're not improving, we book a same-day clinic visit, or, if you're not near one of our clinics, tell you where to be seen near you.
The flat cash rate is $59 for a quick evaluation, or use your insurance and pay your plan's cost-share — we show you an estimate before review starts. Medication is paid at your pharmacy. If the clinician doesn't accept your case for online care, for any reason, the full fee is refunded to your card.
A Texas-licensed Passion Health clinician reviews every intake and decides your plan — not software. For bronchitis, Texas law lets the clinician evaluate you from a condition-specific intake plus your photos and records, and they'll call or video you whenever something needs a conversation. New patients using insurance have a short video visit, because plans pay for a visit, not a form.
No. You're paying for a licensed clinician's evaluation and plan. Many visits end with a prescription; some end with a different plan, a test, or a referral. Controlled medicines — stimulants, benzodiazepines, opioids, testosterone, sleep aids like zolpidem — are never prescribed at an online visit.
Usually not. Most bronchitis is caused by viruses, and antibiotics don't work on viruses or make the cough end sooner. They can also cause side effects. Your clinician considers an antibiotic only when a bacterial cause, such as whooping cough, is likely. Rest, fluids, honey and cough relief are the main treatment for most chest colds.
A chest-cold cough often lasts about 2 to 3 weeks, even after you start feeling better. If your cough lasts more than 3 weeks, you cough up blood, or you get short of breath, you should be seen in person. Smoking can make the cough last longer, and a cold is a good time to think about quitting.
A clinician may form a valid patient relationship online using store-and-forward technology — your condition-specific intake, photos and records — paired with a call or video when needed, as long as the in-person standard of care is met (Tex. Occ. Code §111.005(a)(3), §111.007). Your clinician gives you guidance on follow-up care and, with your consent, sends new patients' visit notes to their primary care physician within 72 hours (§111.005(b)).
Chief Quality Medical Officer, Passion Health · Texas-licensed internal medicine physician
Reviewed for medical accuracy by Dr. Anantha Chentha, MD, Chief Quality Medical Officer, Passion Health, on October 22, 2026. Pages are reviewed again when clinical guidance or our visit rules change, and the date shown here is updated each time.
Book a same-day visit at a Passion Health clinic in Dallas–Fort Worth, or call and we'll point you to the right visit — or, elsewhere in Texas, to the right kind of care near you.