Note: The information contained in this article is for
educational purposes and is not medical advice.
No insurance coverage? As of 2004, there are approximately 44 million people in the United States who have no health insurance and no health coverage. I am one of them. While we would all like to be covered financially in case of a health crisis, it is simply not reachable for many, and therefore being uninsured calls for creative solutions. Although this entire website is meant to help everyone, including those who have no health insurance, I am specifically dedicating this page to help those without health coverage find resources to help themselves.
What actually insures your health? Remember, health insurance does not actually "insure that you will be healthy." Health insurance is primarily meant to help pay some of the bills if you become sick and seek conventional medical treatment, because of the high costs of those services. Sometimes medical treatment can help restore health, especially in the case of accidents or injuries, so insurance can be very valuable in those cases and surely, none of us like being without it. However, please note that health insurance typically does not cover most alternative treatments (i.e., treatments other than drugs and surgery), or preventive services, both of which are known to be most effective for good health and chronic health conditions.
How to help yourself if you have no coverage. I have learned that there are a few things that can be done if you find yourself without health insurance coverage. Some suggestions for finding helpful resources are listed below.
Do further research at your library and on the web.
Health fairs in your community usually offer free or low cost
screenings. Health fairs are often repeated annually, so if you
find one, you might go every year.
Low cost health clinics are available in some communities.
Call 211 in some communities to find referrals for non-emergency assistance. The purpose is to help people find United Way or other local agencies offering assistance.
Some pharmaceutical companies have assistance programs for low income or uninsured patients to get free or nearly free medicines. Call the company's toll free number or look on the company's website. Do a search on the web for "partnership for prescription assistance."
Use toll-free hotlines and helplines.
Find local and on-line support groups. Yahoo groups seems to have a group for just about every disorder, illness, or interest. There are many 12-step groups for a variety of conditions.
For mental health, many communities have free or low cost mental health services. Check in your phone book.
Our local YMCA offers financial assistance to those who cannot afford to pay. Our local Y receives funds from the United Way and does a lot of fundraising. Up to 55% of the fee for membership may be paid. I do not know if this is a nationwide program, but if
you need rehabilitation or personal training for recovery from illness, it might be worth looking into.
Free used crutches, canes, walkers, medical supplies, or other health items (no medicines, though) may be requested via your local freecycle community. The main organization's website at www.freecycle.org can guide you to find your local freecycle group. You can post a message requesting the item that you need. Freecycle might also help you find other resources to help make ends meet.
To borrow used canes, walkers, and crutches, try local senior citizen's centers.
Negotiate with your doctor or health care practitioner.
Make sure your doctor or health care practitioner knows you
do not have insurance. Many kind-hearted professionals lower
their fees for the uninsured.
Study your condition and its possible treatments, so that you know what you need
and can research the least expensive way to obtain it. For example, if
you need a prescription, ask for a cheaper generic version
rather than a more expensive brand name product. Also,
sometimes costly and unnecessary tests meant to tell you
if you need a certain treatment or not can be avoided by
simply doing a "therapeutic trial" of the treatment.
Some treatment centers have financial assistance programs.
If you need medical help, don't assume the treatment center
you would like to go to is out of your reach -- ask them if
they offer financial assistance.
Practitioner training schools may have student clinics offering services with reduced fees. Chiropractic colleges, massage schools, and acupuncture schools come to mind -- there may be others.
Shop around.
Check prices at different pharmacies, optical stores, etc.
Some charge much lower fees than others. Discount store
pharmacies, optical stores, etc. sometimes offer very low prices. One individual wrote: "I do not have any insurance so I have been pricing drugs. I heard on TV about there only being a few places around that do not have a big markup on their drugs and Costco (Cosco?) and Walmart were some. K Mart will match their prices. The price difference for me was $30 at the regular pharmacies and $6.50 at the others."
Call several dentist offices, doctor offices, psychotherapists,
etc. and find out the prices before selecting a practitioner.
Their office staff will tell you their fees over the phone.
You might be amazed at the range of prices, and a low price
does not necessarily mean poor service. I've gotten some of the best help from the lowest priced practitioners.
Many stores that sell nutritional supplements will take returns on bottles that are opened or unopened, within a reasonable time frame, if you have had a reaction to the products or if you cannot use the items. Those are good stores to buy from.
Become as healthy as you can so that you do not get sick in the first place. Also, become healthier
by reversing health condition that you already have, thus avoiding worse
problems. For example, some diseases can
be controlled by using medications, but healthy lifestyle choices can
sometimes reverse medical conditions totally. Some kinds of diabetes
and many so-called mental illnesses are two that come to mind.
Some useful books:
Recapture Your Health by Walt Stoll, MD
and Jan DeCourtney, CMT. Our book contains much information about
things you can do to help yourself.
Doctor Yourselfby Andrew Saul, Ph.D. His book is very user-friendly
and gives some great suggestions for self-help.
See also the physical health links and
mental/emotional health links on this website. On these pages, I have attempted to gather as many websites as I could with self-help information.
If you know of other resources.... So far I have only found these few resources to help the uninsured. Please e-mail me and let me know if you are aware of or have used any other helpful resources, especially those that are available nationally. I am hoping that we can compile a sizeable list, but need the help of others to accomplish this.
Website Claimer and Disclaimer: In the holistic healing model, each person is responsible for one's own health and makes one's own choices in healing. The information in this website is provided for your information and education. It is not medical advice. Any application of the information is at your own discretion. If you feel you need to do so, consult with your physician or other knowledgeable health care practitioner before or while making use of this information.
