 Tending to one's health is not always the easiest thing to do. In a country that does not provide universal healthcare—whether or not it should is not an issue we will be touching here—it is entirely up to the individual to acquire and maintain an adequate healthcare plan; many people do not succeed in that effort.For a lot of people, especially those with limited financial resources, there are just too many obstacles in the way of getting a good plan and staying healthy. Notwithstanding, many people are ignorant of the opportunities that do exist to get very inexpensive health insurance or simply free healthcare; that's what the hope here is, to illuminate the reader as to a few options to go about acquiring either one of them. |
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Find National Healthcare Resources
A good place to start when looking for free healthcare is the US Department of Health and Human Services. From their website, you can check out several possibilities:
- You can check your eligibility for government benefits by looking under the “Resources” tab
- You can find info about signing up for Medicare and Medicaid under the “Families” tab
- Or you can even look at opportunities for grants or funding.
Within the Department of Health and Human Services is the Health Resources and Services Administration, where it is possible to find health plans for uninsured individuals, among other categories of people (pregnant women, elderly, homeless). Of course, the best way to get a free or low cost plan will be to first identify properly your specific healthcare needs and your particular demographic. This is because, often times, programs of this nature are geared toward very specific groups of people:
- Medicare is intended for people over 65 (with minor, specific exceptions).
- Medicaid is intended for those with low-incomes and the poor.
Visit the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, where there is abundant information on both programs. |
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Find State Healthcare Resources
Next on the list of places to begin looking for inexpensive subsidized healthcare would be your state health department.
- You can find a list of them, by state, at the FDA's website.
- In the case of Medicaid, the state is generally the administrator of the services, so you will be able to get further info on that program at your local state offices. To find your local state office, you can use this list of Medaid Programs.
- Also, you can find a state by state list of private organizations that offer free healthcare at UniteForSight.
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Find Local Healthcare Resources
There are usually local health clinics offering free or nearly free medical services not too far from most communities. Two good directories to help you in your search are 211.org and ISafetyNet, with an abundance of listings. |
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When looking locally for help, it's always good to consult with your local physician; he or she will most likely have invaluable insights into the vast, complex web of health insurance plans and healthcare providers, free or not.
Also, go to your municipal social services office to see what plans your local government is offering.
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Identify Your Issue
For most people, the answer in finding an inexpensive healthcare solution lies in identifying precisely what your needs are. Do you have a particular disease that needs treatment? It's common to find societies and organizations that offer subsidized treatment for such specific issues. Knowing where you can find a support base is crucial in the search for affordable or free care, so take advantage of your memberships in certain groups.
Maybe you belong to one of the following groups:
- Veterans get special VA treatment opportunities.
- The elderly get Medicare, as mentioned earlier.
- There are often opportunities for free treatment as part of experimental and research projects with universities and private institutions—though participation in these projects is almost always preceded by signing a waiver and agreeing to accept any possible unwanted outcomes of experimental treatment.
- Minorities also have access to certain opportunities via the Office of Minority Health, part of the Health and Human Services Department. Their website has a very good page detailing how to undertake a search for viable alternatives to the average, expensive healthcare plan.
- Another great place to find help with medical expenses is through religious and faith-based organizations. If you're a member of a church, find out what options they can provide, or what alliances they may have with certain institutions. It is particularly common to be able to find hospice treatment for the elderly at little or no cost through these groups.
- For pregnant women in need of assistance but without the money to put down, there is SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
To summarize, the more specific the condition you need to treat, the more likely you will find financial help in treating it. You won't get free or cheap care to simply do a check up or other non-essential treatment. In this sense, it is always possible to find free care for any kind of emergency situation, no matter where you are: it is a federal law that emergencies be tended to no matter the patient's ability to pay. But that is quite different from actually having a healthcare plan.
A good site for people looking to get and keep a plan is Individuals. |
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Get Assessed
In the end, it all comes down to knowing where to find sound advice.
- Talk to a lawyer and get a better understanding of local, state, and federal law on the topic of health insurance.
- Visit blogs and web posts that discuss the issue, for example you can try InsureBlog.
- Find some more forums on the topic by doing a search with one of the major search engines like Google or Yahoo.
- Stop by your local hospital to consult on any programs, and get a list of other centers nearby that may be able to help out.
Often times, the uninsured remain so because they are unable or unwilling to reach out for help, so make sure to avoid this if you happened to be in a situation where you need help with medical expenses. Like most things in life, a little research goes a long way, and if want to find the help, you will eventually do so. |
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