No insurance? You can still get care.
Free and sliding-scale clinics, affordable prescriptions, dental and mental-health help, coverage enrollment — and your legal rights when the bill arrives. All of it orbits around one person: you.
The bill is often negotiable — or erasable.
These aren't favors. They're federal law and binding hospital policy, and they apply whether or not you have insurance.
Under EMTALA, an emergency room must screen and stabilize you regardless of insurance or ability to pay. Nobody can be turned away at the door.
Charity care existsNonprofit hospitals are required to run financial assistance programs. Bills can be reduced or erased — even after they've gone to collections. You usually just have to ask, in writing.
Sliding scale is realFederally qualified health centers see everyone and charge by income. Nobody is refused for inability to pay.
Start with what you need today.
Free clinics and FQHCs with sliding-scale fees. Every listing shows whether it sees uninsured patients.
02PrescriptionsDiscount programs, $4 generics lists, manufacturer assistance and NeedyMeds.
03DentalDental schools, community clinics and sliding-scale practices that actually take new patients.
04Mental healthFree counseling, support groups, 988, and treatment finders that don't require insurance.
05CoverageMedicaid, CHIP and marketplace enrollment — with free human help filling out the forms.
06Medical billsCharity care applications, bill negotiation, and organizations like Dollar For that do it with you.