I’m just going to address this now since I’m coming across this more and more recently. Basically, patients who have lost their jobs and subsequently lost their insurance or some other scenario leading to the lost of health coverage calling for advice.
Without going into all the issues of the growing number of uninsured people and the health care crisis, I just want to point out some options if you find yourself in this situation and/or need to see a doctor.
- Start with your current primary doctor. Even if you’ve lost coverage, most doctors will continue to see you as a patient for a minimal fee for about as much as option 2. Talk to your doctor’s office and ask about arrangements. You might find that some doctors will be willing to do certain things over the phone to help save you money, especially if you already have a relationship with them. They might even supply you with medications from their sample closet (a temporary solution but still good).
- Retail clinics. These are popping up everywhere and offer convenient same day appointments and you often pay by complexity of the presenting problem. Remember that you are often seen by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant and not by a doctor. But, you can easily get the simply health concerns taken care of for about $60-70 plus the costs of any tests, shots, medications. There was a recent article stating that Walgreens was going to offer free care through their retail clinics to customers who show proof of job lost. This may be worth looking in to if you live by one of these.
- Consider telephone doctor services. Basically, you go online to one of these service providers and enter in your complaint and health history. A doctor then will call you back and get additional information. They can call in any prescriptions for you except controlled substances ( I think). This is a great option for simple things that you don’t need to be examined by the doctor. It also saves you time from driving to an appointment and seeing the doctor. And the doctor will tell you if they think you need to be evaluated in person.
- Try getting an appointment with local community health centers. They will often give you a sliding fee scale but be prepared it may be very busy and difficult to get in right away.
- Your last option is the urgent care clinics or ER, unless of course, you really have an emergency situation. Usually, I see many patients go into urgent care for non-urgent needs which usually cost them a lot more money. If you truly have an emergency, do not delay because you have no health insurance. Just go. When in doubt, call your regular doctor first for advice. Most offices will have an on call doctor or nurse you can consult with 24/7.
Hope this helps.