Im sure this will help. Ameriplan saves people up to 75% on medical costs, medications and what not. I know a few people that use it and it works wonders.
here is the site.
www.mybenefitsplus.com/laughlin

Hope this helps. Everyone should be able to see a Dr!

I made the mistake of taking my daughter to a NIB. I lost my health insurance 04/08 due to job loss, and COBRA would have taken over 1/2 of my Unemployment. I chose my house instead. Anyway, my childs peditrician charges $60 for office visit. I thought the NIB would save me $$ - and it only saved $1. The mistake I made was not calling other drs. My PCP only charges me $40 with no insurance.... So call around. You may not be able to afford to see your regular dr. but there are doctors out there that will not charge an arm & a leg to see you. I hope this helps someone.

Beware, I took my son because I thought he might have an ear infection. The NP checked his ears and said all clear, then she mentioned that his glads seemed swallon but said it was just a touch of the cold bug. When he didn't seem to get better went to our Dr. and he had strep! Also was over charged by 20.00 and two months later still fighting to get my money back. Make sure you check your insurance explaination of benefits against your bill. And save your reciept!!!

You can call 211 but dialing 211 or you may be able to find what you need on the HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration). Please see the information below to get better ideas of what the FQHC is all about;

Federally-funded health centers care for you, even if you have no health insurance. You pay what you can afford, based on your income. Health centers provide checkups when you're well
treatment when you're sick
complete care when you're pregnant
immunizations and checkups for your children, dental care and prescription drugs for your family mental health and substance abuse care if you need it.

Health centers are in most cities and many rural areas.

For access just enter hrsa, this should bring you to the home page. Look to the right side of the page, find the yellow colored box that states "Find a Health Center". Best of luck to you!

I tried www.211.org and I couldn't find the website. Is there a phone number or a bone fide web address?

NPs in Georgia do not have prescriptive rights. To my knowledge, GA is the only state in the US where this is true. The NP in the urgent care center is backed by an MD. If you look at your prescription, you'll see that it was signed by the MD, not the NP. The physician lobby in GA has fought against NP prescriptive rights in GA for years, citing a lack of education, etc. NPs are Masters prepared nurses with years of bedside care (not just writing orders, but actual hands on care) under their belts. Imagine how much better healthcare would be if they were utilized more.

Healthcare may be available to all. However, not everyone has the information and/or the funds to even pay the $59 for Healcare in a Box or the $4 for Wal-Mart prescriptions. Many Americans are making decisions between food, children's needs, keeping their homes, and medical care. With escalating costs for everything, these choices are becoming more difficult. We should not be so self-righteous as to think that everyone has the education, information, and monetary situation that some may have. We have to do something for the 'least of these.' I recently had a cerebral aneurysm. Even with health coverage, I still have to make choices about some of my prescriptions and the co-pays for physical therapy, and specialized care(neurology & CatScans/MRI). These co-pays are very expensive for me. I really think that we need to rethink the costs.

I wanted to point out that Np and PA practice has been well studied by private as well as government groups. The findings have always shown that Np/PA practice is not substandard and is comparable to MD's. In fact many studies do show that patient satisfaction is higher with np/pa care than md's. It is easy for this debate to turn into a turf battle and most of us who work day in and day out as mid level practitioners have no desire to be doctors or take away any "turf" from md's. We all acknowledge that md's have more training and are considered the "team" leader. But it doesn't take away from the training, experience and desire for excellent patient care we can bring to the table. There are plenty of sick patients to go around and they deserve competent care and compassion no matter what letters are attached to the end of your name. The majority of doctors that I work with appreciate my work and even ask me to consult on cases they feel I have a particular expertise for. The best advice for patients in choosing a healthcare provider is that they listen and trust you as well as you do them.

I don't think Clark is saying he is against doctors. He is saying if you can't afford your doctor's fees - and maybe some people can't - there are alternatives. With drug prices the alternatives are there, too. You can buy your medications from Canada or take a risk and buy from overseas manufacturers (bad idea, imo).
For the record, it's not the doctors who are the bain of our health system.
It's evident that the pharmacy benefit management companies, pharmaceutical companies and other interested parties are the problem.
I was married to a doctor, often going to parties hosted not by the doctors, but the drug reps. Many of them drove nicer cars and lived in bigger, fancier houses than the physicians they peddled their products to. They're only doing their jobs, just as we all are, but the pharmaceutical giants are the ones working with the Pharmacy Benefit Management Companies (PBMs) (and probably the FDA and Medicare, too) to set the outrageous formularies that determine drug price determination and reimbursement.
Remember, the most profitable corporations and businesses in America are not medical practices: They are the pharmaceutical giants. The problem is we have the option of finding a more affordable doctor but finding affordable medication is not as easy.

I have insurance and a very really good family doctor. However if he's out of town or not available, the nurse practioners in his office are great. Their exam is actually more extensive than his is and they seem more caring. My friend says his doctor is so busy he schedules his appointments with the nurse as she is better, easier to see and a hell of a lot better to talk to.

I currently have over $1K in medical bills that my insurance has decided not to pay. And with the price of everything going up, I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck these days. I have no idea how I'm going to pay what I owe, so ideas for saving $ in the near future are appreciated. And BTW, I'm not blowing my money on sports events or other entertainment. I'm doing "crazy" things with it like buying gas and groceries, and paying my mortgage.

Insist that your elected representatives (state and national) immediately work on stopping (all, but emergency) medical services to illegal 'immigrants'. This will bring medical costs down in all our localities.

I think clark is simply suggesting an alternative for people who cannot afford healthcare.
Maybe i'm missing something, but I didnt read anywhere that clark hates doctors and doesnt want them to make any money. He is simply trying to help consumers that are not as fortunate as those who get pleasure from trashing his work on the internet. Second rate healthcare is better than no healthcare! Which is what many would have if not for listening to Clark.

My doctor only charges $65 for office visit because I have no insurance. My medincine that I will need he gives me samples so I do not have to pay. I am very thankful!!

Beth,
You're not an audiologist are you?

I usually like clark, but he is dead wrong on this whole nurse in a box thing. Nurse practiioners are ill equiped for anything but the most routine of visits (illness, that to be quite honest, will resolve on their own). Nurse practioners were never intended to practice on their own, as they do in the nurse in the box setting. Sure a doctor may review the chart, but only after the patient is long gone. Depending on a nurse for medical care is not cost effective. Unfortunately, their knowledge is too limited. Anything of significance will require referral to doctor. This leads to another charge. If you would have seen a doctor in the first place, your final costs would be much lower. Also, a nurse is very likely to miss complex diagnoses. Unfortunately Clark, you get what you pay for.

I think it is completely unbelievable that people would sit hear and blame doctors on the problems this country has w/ high health costs. Wake Up! Do you honestly think they go through 10 or more years of school to come out HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars in debt only because they want to 'steal' your money?! I know there are doctors that do only care about the money, but not most. Get your facts straight before you start blaming the people that are hear to help you.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

Visit Frontline's website and select "Sick Around the World". Maybe Clark should watch it too. Might learn something.

To Zack:
The $450 fee you paid was for the dermatologist's expertise. If he/she was sharp enough to quickly diagnose your problem, then you got your money's worth. Would you feel better if the doc had run a bunch of tests and spent 4 hours to arrive at the same conclusion?

It's funny the Wallstreet quake has scared everyone, even almighty doctors. So much- that they have to turn off the radio when they hear about cheaper alternatives.

Thanks for suggesting these services. Everyone has a right to obtain medical services which he or she can afford. Too many people have had to place medical services costs on credit cards and then are exploited by those vendors through retroactive interest rate hikes that amount to usury.

Granted I accept that doctors proceed through a very long and rigorous education and it is very expensive. Their services are highly specialized and are absolutely needed. However, competition in ANY industry is a good thing. It forces lower prices, better services and more choices. Greed in this country is ruining the telecom/broadband industry, Technology, BANKING and medicine. Isn't there more to life than just the stack of green in our wallets? Money is important and managing wisely is important. But why prevent competition? Corporations and other businesses who want regulatory protection from competition are undermining capitalism and the advantages of a free market economy and they are usually the same ones who are first to tout the advantages of such a system. Greed and hippocracy rule these days it seems.

My husband is a family medicine doctor and owns his business. He works very hard to provide for our family and has a wonderful reputation in our community. You obviously do not know what you are saying when you prefer the "doc in the box" options/nurse practioners. Please stop speaking of things that you do not have a clue about- you are doing more harm than good- I have turned the radio off this morning after your biased comments regarding these issues in health care-get the facts from doctors like my husband who can inform you better- they have to make a living too!