Good Health Care?

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Uninsured Can Still Find Good Health Care

Retail Clinics, Web Sites Can Save Money

Craig Clough, Staff writer

POSTED: 2:51 pm EST March 2, 2009

President Barack Obama has set aside $634 billion over the next 10 years to fund a new program aimed at getting health coverage to all Americans. While that may eventually bring universal health care, it does nothing to help the estimated 47 million Americans without a plan right now. Many sick people who need medical help seek to treat themselves to avoid high costs. So, until universal health care becomes a reality -- a big if -- home remedies and creativity are the norm for many Americans. What are some of the best ways to keep your medical costs down if you have no insurance?

Retail Health Centers

Retail health clinics are often located in malls, shopping centers or groceries stores and are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants. With an average cost between $30 and $110 per visit, they are becoming a fast, easy and cheap way for uninsured people to get health care. A 2007 poll by Knowledge Networks estimated there were around 2,000 retail clinics in the country at the end of 2008. Minute Clinic currently has 505 locations in 25 states across the country. Treatment focuses on strep throat and ear, eye, sinus, bladder and bronchial infections. MinuteClinic also provides some common vaccinations, such as influenza and tetanus. They will also recommend that you see a doctor if they believe your illness is serious. "We are a focused practice. We treat well people for common family illnesses," said Donna Haugland, director of nurse practitioner services for MinuteClinic. "We have a menu of maybe 30 conditions that we treat, and we don't treat outside of those conditions."

Playing Doctor Online

Remember that old TV commercial where actor Bergman said, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV"? Well, for many uninsured Web surfers, their line could be, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the Internet." For people with serious illnesses and chronic health problems, home remedies and self treatment are not a very viable option, but for less serious problems, Internet tools such as WebMD can be an invaluable source. If a trip to the doctor to get a diagnosis of an ailment is not in the budget, WebMD can help you do your own diagnosis. If WebMD tells you that the ailment is serious, perhaps it will be worth a trip to the doctor. But if the diagnosis is not serious and you might find that you can treat it yourself. WebMD covers pretty much all medical conditions, but can be really helpful for people looking to skip a doctor's trip for less serious problems, such as determining if you have a cold or the flu.

TelaDoc

If the idea of diagnosing and treating yourself over the Internet is not comforting and you would prefer to at least speak to a real doctor, TelaDoc may be what you are looking for. Instead of trying to diagnose yourself through Google, you can speak to a real doctor over the phone through TelaDoc for $35. According to its Web site, "TelaDoc is…A national network of board certified, licensed primary care physicians that diagnose illness, recommend treatment and prescribe medication, when appropriate, for its members over the telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year."

Federally-Funded Health Centers

Federally Qualified Health Centers serve 23 million people in both rural and urban settings at over 4,000 sites across the country, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. According to its Web site, you will receive treatment even in you have no insurance, and you pay what you can afford, based on your income. They do checkups, complete pregnancy care, immunizations, dental care, mental health and substance abuse treatment.