You Don’t Have Health Insurance. Now What?

edralyn
January 15, 2013

Forty-four million Americans are uninsured, and another almost 40 million people have inadequate health insurance. Without health insurance, people have been going without preventative healthcare and avoiding necessary treatment when they can. Often, this means that these health issues exacerbate themselves and often these patients end up with worse trouble than they started with. “The people who are most risk today are those you have no insurance at all,” according to Sherry Giled, hD. “They’re at risk of not catching real problems before they get serious enough to not be treatable.”

If you’re one of millions of Americans without insurance, make sure that you don’t let your lack of coverage make your health problems worse. Here are 3 assistance programs that may be useful for you if you don’t have coverage but you do need healthcare.

CoverageforAll.org

CoverageforAll.org is a state directory that will answer insurance questions and provide assistance information. It will direct you to various assistance programs based on your income, your eligibility for Medicaid and children. Depending on your needs, you can find the appropriate outlet to help you.

Insure Kids Now

Insurekidsnow.gov is a federal program set up for children who need medical and psychological care. They were founded to ensure that children who need care will get it. Check out their web site to apply for assistance for your child.

High Risk Pool

This program was set up for patients who have been turned down based upon preexisting conditions. Many states have their own high risk pool program. Look into the state directory or find private companies who offer this service.

Urgent Care Centers

Most urgent care facilities are used to working with patients who have no health insurance. You can get discounts for paying with cash and you can often get family packages that will work with your family throughout the year. Often with Urgent Care facilities you don’t have to make an appointment far in advance, and you don’t have to wait nearly as long to get in to the doctor. Some Urgent Care facilities require a minimum payment at time of visit but will set up payment plans for the remainder of the payment.

Nonprofit Hospitals

Nonprofit hospitals provide emergency care no matter whether you’re able to pay or not. These facilities are able to write off part of your bill because of their non-profit status. They will often set up payment plans or give you discounted care as a result.

Prescription Assistance

Several prescription assistance programs are rising to the occasion to answer the lack of healthcare for Americans. Generic drug programs are offering lower cost programs. If you can get medical care from one of the above programs, you can fill your prescriptions with a prescription assistance program. Check out the following programs if you’re interested in prescription assistance:

www.rxassist.org
www.Rxhope.com
www.needymeds.org
www.rxoutreach.com

If you don’t have healthcare, don’t get depressed and don’t go without. Get proactive and look into your options and resources. You could be saving yourself a lot of money in future medical bills by nipping current medical problems in the bud. There are federal, state and private options out there; you just have to find them in order to help yourself and your family.

Sheri Clark writes articles for several health sites, covering urgent care clinics to help you choose an urgent care center near you.