Plain-language guides for finding affordable care, understanding clinic types, preparing for visits, and confirming costs before you go.
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Hospital financial assistance, sometimes called charity care, may reduce or forgive certain hospital bills for eligible patients. It is especially important for uninsured patients, underinsured patients, and people facing bills they cannot afford.
Rules vary by hospital. Always ask for the written financial-assistance policy and application before assuming you do or do not qualify.
Medicare and Medicaid are government health programs, but they serve different groups and follow different rules.
Medicare is federal health insurance mainly for people age 65 and older and certain younger people with disabilities or qualifying conditions. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that covers eligible people based on income and other state rules.
Some people qualify for both.
Affordable health insurance is not always the plan with the lowest monthly premium. The deductible, provider network, prescription coverage, copays, and out-of-pocket maximum can make a major difference in what you actually pay.
Start by checking whether anyone in the household qualifies for Medicaid or CHIP. Then compare Marketplace and employer plans using the same expected healthcare needs.
Prescription costs can vary widely depending on the medicine, pharmacy, insurance plan, and whether a generic version is available. Before skipping a dose or stopping treatment because of cost, ask the prescriber or pharmacist about safer and less expensive options.
This guide explains several places to look for help. Eligibility, savings, and covered medicines vary, so confirm the details with the program, pharmacy, or clinic.
A sliding-fee program reduces healthcare charges according to a patient’s ability to pay.
At many community health centers, the discount is based primarily on:
The clinic compares this information with its current fee-discount schedule. The amount owed may range from a nominal charge to a partial discount or the full standard fee.
A sliding scale does not necessarily mean care is free.