Free Or Low-cost Healthcare Services In Your Area

  1. Remote Area Medical. The Remote Area Medical® (RAM) Volunteer Corps is a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, dental care, eye care, veterinary services, and technical and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the world.  Check out the web site here.  
  2. Federal Free Clinics The Health Resources Service Administration (HSRA), a division of the Federal Government’s Department of Health and Human Services runs a series of free clinics nationwide. Their website provides the address and contact information for clinics that offer Primary Medical, Obstetrical and Gynecological, Dental, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care, Other Types of Medical, and Support Services. The website is: http://ask.hrsa.gov/pc/.
  3. Free Clinic Foundation of America The Free Clinic Foundation of America Website contains a listing of many clinics throughout the country. You can search by state. Most of the free clinics have a religious affiliation. They are not federal government clinics. The clinics listed on this website are in addition to the federal government’s free clinics. The website also contains information on how to start your own free clinic. The Website is: http://www.freeclinicfoundation.com/.
  4. Academic Medical Center (AMC)-Associated Clinics and Free Care U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals are a critical component of the national safety net for America’s millions of uninsured and underinsured, providing countless community-based programs designed to help working families. From wellness programs, to preventative and primary care medicine, to health education initiatives and emergency care, these services are essential lifelines for the uninsured to America’s healthcare system. The following website contains a listing by region of AMC available services: http://www.aamc.org/uninsured/start.htm
  5. Local Hospital All hospitals are under some level of obligation to provide services to their communities as well as charitable care to their patient population. The amount and degree of services and care varies based upon the status of the hospital. Hospitals that have a non-profit status are under a greater obligation than hospitals that are for profit. You can determine your local hospital’s profit/non-profit status by looking it up on the American Hospital Directory website at www.ahd.com. Contact the public relations department and/or the hospital’s financial department to inquire about any special programs they have for patients with economic needs.
  6. Routine and diagnostic care: Hundreds of community health centers around the country offer free or low-cost care. To find a site near you, visit the Bureau of Primary Health Care.
  7. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information on state health departments, which provide additional clinics and resources for the uninsured.
  8. The CDC also has a guide for women looking for low-cost mammograms and Pap smears. The American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 can direct you to services that provide free or cheap screenings for various types of cancer.
  9. Birth control and reproductive care: Many of the free and low-cost clinics provide reproductive care, or you can contact Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which specializes in free and low-cost help for men and women.
  10. Vision: Lions Club Internationalis famous for its charity eye-care campaigns, which provide free screenings and recycled glasses. If you have a low-wage job but no vision coverage, the American Optometric Associationmay be able to hook you up with a volunteer doctor of optometry for a free exam. If you’re 65 or older, the American Academy of Ophthalmology may be able to provide exams and treatment through its EyeCare America foundation at 1-800-222-EYES.
  11. Dental: If going to the dentist terrifies you, the idea of going to a rookie dentist probably isn’t going to put you any more at ease. But dental schools provide inexpensive and well-supervised treatment. To find the one nearest you, visit the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
  12. Check out the ToothWoman Network for more links to low-cost dental providers.
  13. Emergency care: If you’re facing a life-threatening situation, hospital emergency rooms are required to evaluate and stabilize you before asking about your ability to pay. A very limited number of hospitals are required to provide such care for free if you’re poor, but the vast majority can bill you (and may hound you aggressively with collection agencies).
  14. Health Resources and Services Administration: This site from the US government can help you find low cost health care centers in your area, get access to need-based health care assistance and even help expecting mothers find a way to get reliable prenatal care without incurring huge fees.
  15. Medical Information Bureau: Can’t understand why you are quoted such a high rate for medical insurance? The MIB maintains records on insureds that are given to member organizations when they are underwriting your policies. Understanding how this process works and knowing about your own health insurance history can help you find ways to lower your insurability costs.
  16. Bureau of Primary Health Care: You don’t have to hunt around fruitlessly to find government subsidized and low cost health care in your area. This site gives a state-by-state guide to low-cost health centers, especially those in areas that are typically undeserved medically.
  17. NIDCR Guide to Finding Low Cost Dental Care: Dental care is an integral part of a health care plan, and you can get information on how you can save on your next visit to a dentist with these helpful tips, links and resources from the National Institute of Dental and Crainofacial Research.
  18. Dental Care Coverage Options:
    1. The National Children’s Oral Health Foundation plans to build 500 centers, treat 5 million children, and educate 20 million people over the next five years.
    2. The Chicago Dental Society has assistance projects that build educational institutions and public health programs to support the dental profession and provide dental care to the needy.
    3. The Smiles Across America program, operating in Chicago, Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties (Calif.), and Maine provides oral health programs through school-linked programs.
    4. Ronald McDonald House Charities help locate treatment for special cases, connecting such patients with dentists and oral surgeons.
    5. Oral Health America’s National Sealant Alliance is committed to sealing one million teeth by 2010.
    6. The Centers for Disease Control’s National Oral Health Surveillance System provides information about early childhood-oriented programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Head Start, childcare centers, and Family Resource Centers.
    7. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Primary Care offers information about Federally Qualified Community, Migrant, and Homeless Health Centers.
    8. Certain universities, such as the University of Minnesota Dental School, Berkeley University, and Marquette University, provide free or low-cost dental care.
    9. The National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped helps to meet the dental care needs of the disabled.
    10. The Children’s Dental Health Project helps policymakers, healthcare providers, healthcare advocates, and parents improve children’s oral health and increase their access to dental care.
    11. You may find additional resources by typing “free dental care [name of your state]” into an Internet search engine such as Google, Yahoo! or MSN.
    12. State Resources:
      1. Massachusetts. Health Care For All seeks to create a consumer-centered health care system that provides comprehensive, affordable, accessible, culturally competent, high quality care and consumer education for everyone, especially the most vulnerable. The web site offers public and private resources (in both English and Spanish), and a consumer help-line for those with healthcare questions.
      2. North Carolina: http://nchealthcarehelp.org/ Connecting North Carolinians with Free and Reduced Cost Healthcare Services

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