Are you without health or medical insurance? Did the spouse with coverage lose his/her job? Or perhaps the monthly premium for your insurance has become more than you can financially afford?
Well if it’s any consolation to you, according to this article in CNN Money 49.9 million, or 16.3% of, Americans are uninsured. You’re not alone! And these numbers are rising!
Fear not! There is help and there is hope; it’s called free health care. Yes, in America, we have free health care (And, I’m not talking about Obama Care). It flies under the radar with the title of charity-care. Charity-care is an all too often unadvertised service provided by many medical institutions.
In an effort to provide care for low-income persons, many hospitals have instituted charity-care programs. They just don’t advertise this to the public all too often. Charity-care is federally funded however each state has their own version of the system. These programs allow eligible individuals to receive discounted or even free health care services. Of course, you’ll need to check with your local hospital, but every hospital has defined its own charity-care policy, and most follow the same straightforward application process.
In the case of an emergency, or when applying for charity-care, here are a few things you should know:
1. It is an actual mandate under the U.S. government’s Hill-Burton Free or Reduced-Cost Care Program that was signed into law in 1946 to provide care to low-income individuals. However, you must meet certain financial criteria.
2. Use this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services link to find a health center in your area. Or look at this list to see if your local medical center is listed.
3. Scope out free clinics in your area that function under the terms of charity-care. Plug in your zip code when visiting this link to find free clinics in your town.
4. In the case of an emergency, know your rights.
See this breaking news video produced today by an ABC News affiliate in Los Angeles.
I feel like I need to inject this disclaimer. My goal here is not to advocate for socialized medicine or government health care. Nor am I advocating that you drop health care coverage if you have it. I’m not advocating for anything really. I just want to pass on information. Our country is experiencing hard times. Lots of people are finding themselves redefining their standard of living. And for many, the uncertainty can be scary. It’s my goal to offer hope and a temporary solution for those who may be unemployed or unable to afford insurance at this time.
My family is without medical/health insurance at this time due to a change in jobs, and the cost of private coverage is more than we can handle presently. Nonetheless, I will tell you this: there is a misconception that having health insurance will, in effect, provide some sort of magical protection against disease. However reality says, health insurance does not make you or your family healthy! Your choices concerning such things as exposure to toxic materials, foods, level of physical exercise and time spent outdoors are a few of the things that can make you the healthiest you possible.
Note: I am in no way suggesting that this is true for everyone. Neither am I blaming people who get sick on the basis of their actions. There are SO many factors that effect one’s health that are out of our control. I am sensitive to that.
It is simply my view that having, or not having, health insurance is a risk…a gamble. Insurers bank on you and me getting sick. Personally, when it comes to me and my family, I feel it’s safer to bet on health rather than sickness. And how do we do that? Instead of investing monthly into a health insurance plan, we invest monthly in organic/homegrown foods, vitamins/nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, physical fitness and non-toxic homemade home/body care products.
At the end of the day, we do what is best for our families given the situations we find ourselves in. Life is fluid like that.
If you are uninsured, where by circumstances out of your control or by choice, I hope you have found encouragement and resources to help you today in this post. And as always, please feel free to comment concerning all that you have read.
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Sometimes I wonder if we would ever pay the same amount in cash per year for health care as we do in premiums. We pay about $4k/year for our family, and typically only go to the Dr.'s once per year, if that at all. Of course the big question is if there was an emergency, we would need the insurance at that point. But, after paying into the system for so many years, would it have been better to just put that money in an account in case something happened down the line? Interesting information, thanks 🙂
I was like you at one time. I had insurance but took it for granted. In 2005, at age 39, I was taken to a local ER with chest pains and dizziness. I was admitted and required a heart catheterization and other tests to rule out a heart attack and the need for interventions such as a pacemaker, bypass, stent, or other treatment. Fortunately my test was negative and I was released. My bill was several hundred thousand dollars so I was greatful for my insurance. My out of pocket total was nothing. Self pay health care is expensive. Most people could not afford to let a couple hundred thousand sit in an account waiting for a problem to occur. My point is that you never know what will happen even in the next few minutes to change your life. That one incident cost more that I will probably pay in health insurance premiums for the rest of my life. Plus now I have not had health insurance since 2008 and I wish I could afford it now as subsequent ER bills have largely destroyed my credit. Think carefully before you make such a move as you may regret it.
This is a fantastic post!!!! I agree 100%. My husband and I are small business owners. We have dropped our health insurance because a)he has MS and cant be insured privately and b)my son and I don't ever get sick. We would never get our money back unless a catastrophe occurs. But, you watch the movie John Q and think 'Crap!! I need insurance!'
We're like you. We prefer instead to focus on health to prevent doctor visits and hospital stays.
I get so annoyed when I hear about "healthcare" on the news. Its not healthcare they're talking about…..Its insurance. I wish they would change the phraseology and remember what people did before insurance.
@Misty Yes! I agree with you! Humanity has survived thousands and thousands of years up until the invention of "health insurance." In fact, it really wasn't until about 1929 that modern group health insurance as we know it began to form. But I understand we live in a very different society now. Either way it's a tough subject.
I had a trip to the emergency room a couple of months ago for some stitches but ended up with "super-glue" and a tetanus shot. Because I have insurance, the bill came to over $1400!! I was there for about 45 minutes! My insurance only covered about $400 so the hospital wants us to pay the rest. I have been told that if I didn't have insurance, the bill would have only been about $300-$400 total. What's wrong with this picture?!? I feel like I'm being punished financially for doing the responsible/right thing by carrying insurance!
Thanks for a great post!
@Candy C. The picture is messed up that's for sure! Thank you for your comment.
@Hanna Elise Thank you for sharing this. I going to look into it! Thanks again.
There are also some other options out there: for example, Samaritan Ministries. Granted, this is not considered insurance, and it is for people of faith, but for some people (including our own family) it has proven to be an excellent alternative to the costly insurance via my husbad's job.
We are responsible for "routine" things such as chirpractic checkups not related to a specific injury ($42/visit @ ours), and well-child visits for my son ($35/visit @ our family dr), but needs over $300 are submittable for coverage. So basically, it's covering our backs in case of emergency, but allows us to pay less in "premium" (though, not being a health insurance provider, they aren't technically premiums) each month and tuck any extra aside into savings for things that are routine and/or under $300. There is the added bonus that a) our monthly share goes directly to another person's need, and b) SM doesn't cover things that we don't agree with, such as abortions, which ARE covered by many insurance providers, and therefore your typical premium would go to support that.
The cost?
$135 – single share
$270 – a couple
$200 – single-parent family
$320 – two-parent family
It's educed for young adults (25 and under), which includes our family as hubby and I are only 22:
$99 – single share
$199 – couple
$149 – single parent family
$249 – two-parent family
And, the monthly share is reduced $30/month for each member of the household who is 65 or older.
It's not for everyone, but for some this might be a viable option, so I tought I would share.
We joined Samaritan in June and are loving it! Our friends were on Samaritan and it fully covered their home birth! We are headed overseas for missions this fall and I love that we’re as ‘covered’ out of the country as we are in it!
Thanks for your thoughts and information, Andrea. Visiting from the Barn Hop. This is definitely an issue in this country at this time. We, too, struggle with it. I will be checking out your links.
Thanks for the information. I try to avoid conventional medicine and use natural therapies that don't require health insurance.
We just recieved our new rate for 2012 and our premiums have increased $147.00 per month making our premiums $1200.00 a month. BCbS has priced us out of insurance. WE cannot afforded this any longer. There has to be another way for families not to lose everthing they own without paying this ridilious amount per year. And they do not cover everything anyway plus a deductible per yr. I am so burned out on ins.
I agree with poster #1. Put the money into a savings account (or under your mattress which might be even better and more safe!) rather than pay premiums to huge insurance companies so they can use your money. How ridiculous is that? I never have been a fan of insurance, and my DH and I are both self-employed so we have none. Truthfully, we don't want insurance because we rarely use doctors for anything. We eat a healthy WAPF type diet and are quickly approaching our 60's in total health. The insurance industry props up the medical industry and vice versa. Why would I want to contribute to that nightmare??
For some good information on health, read here:
http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/chapters/
Explore all the links (especially the one on vaccines and the one called Doors of Perception). Good stuff, although I don't follow his diet advice or buy his products, still the other stuff he writes is excellent and on-the-money.
Gonna have to second the comment in favor of Samaritan Ministries!! We simply love it. They expect you to take care of your own health, but they are there for those times when you need outside help–i.e. a pregnancy. Look into it!!
-DeyArmin
Thanks for linking to the Frugal Tuesday Tip. http://juliecache.com/2011/10/24/frugal-tuesday-tip-40-what-a-milestone/.html
We've been without medical insurance for years with dh's self-employment, and we use free clinics for camp and school physicals annually. We've also used a free sports injury assessment in our area, which may be something other places offer, too: http://www.examiner.com/frugal-family-in-des-moines/free-sports-injury-assessments-des-moines
Excellent post and great discussions! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. This was very interesting! Hope to see you next week!
Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/fat-tuesday-october-25-2011/
If you have grain-free recipes please visit my Grain-Free Linky Carnival in support of my 28 day grain-free challenge! It will be open until November 2.
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/grain-free-real-food-linky-carnival/
EarthClinic.com is a helpful site for people & pets where individuals share their experiences using natural health remedies.
Until very, very recently, I’ve been without health insurance for years now due to being an adjunct professor at a supposedly awesome community college. Basically, I was treated like an indentured servant–getting paid a salary that kept me BELOW poverty level while ensuring that I worked full time hours. At any rate, I finally got a better teaching gig and HEALTH BENEFITS!! However, I’ve been without insurance for so long, and I’ve not needed a doctor in so long (just a trip to the emergency room for 10 stitches after a cooking accident…)…it seemed silly to blow part of my paycheck on insurance premiums every month. I opted instead for a health savings account. I don’t even have to put any of my own money in it. The college automatically puts $100/month in it. I can use that money for basic care (a dermatologist check up, maybe, new glasses, or a well-woman visit) or just know that it’s there if I DO get sick or need stitches, again. If an HSA is an option and you’re young/healthy and single/unmarried, I’d say go for it.
When I was uninsured and very, very poor, I definitely benefited from charity care through a local Free Clinic–St. Nicholas. They were wonderful to me when I was having daily migraines and had no clue why. Most decently sized towns have them, and I think every large city I’ve been to has one. There are also county health departments as an option, at least for some things. I know the health department around here has really, really cheap well-woman checkups and family planning services. Great post!
I don’t know how to thank you! We fall into that strange financial bracket where we aren’t poor enough for Medicare and yet don’t make enough to afford health insurance. I found some clinics near me from those links and plan to make some phone calls so I can get my kids caught up on vaccines and get myself a check up that I have not gotten for 3 years.
Actually, private pay health insurance isn’t all that expensive. You just have to know what you can do without and how large of a deductable are comfortable with. We private pay and it is cheaper than what my husband’s employer provides. We are both fairly healthy and so our coverage is mostly intended for big ticket emergency situations. I’ve also found that many doctors are cheaper if you are on cash since they don’t have to file insurance claims.
The sad thing is that most of our huge national health costs go to support big pharmaceutical companies inflated prices, ridiculous prices for all medical treatment, insurance companies massive profits, etc. And our government programs pay those costs, which means US. Most of the civilized world has various ways of supplying health care to ALL its citizens with low, or no, direct cost to them, and without bankrupting the government (US).. It is time to look at some real possibilities in alternatives to our system that is the most expensive in the world, but is steadily falling, on every indicator, in aiding the health of our population. Every insurance payment we make is a bet against or own health!