Free Health Care & Free Medications

This page will list all the information that AF.c has on Free Health Care, and additional resources will be added as they are discovered. If you have any information that should be added to this page, please let us know. This site is not intended to be a platform for political debate. However, the reality is that deductibles continue to rise and insurance coverage continues to decrease as democrats and republics continue to fight for the legacy of health care reform instead of just fixing it. When this article was originally conceived it was not required by law for every citizen to have health insurance; now it is. But really what good does it do to have insurance that is so expensive, yet covers very little? You’re still responsible for your own health.

Many US citizens have health insurance benefits through their employer. See Perk Freebies.

Reduce Health Care Costs By Staying As Healthy As Possible

People don’t have full control over their health. Sometimes there is very little that can be done to prevent certain disease or trauma. However, one of the best ways to reduce health care costs is to do all we can to stay healthy. This means practicing healthy habits such as brushing our teeth, eating right, exercising, and getting the proper amount of sleep. It also means avoiding unhealthy habits, such as junk food or smoking, which is not only cheaper up front, but much, much cheaper down the road.

See Free Gym & Free Exercise for resources to stay fit.

See Free Food and Free Gardening Resources to get healthy food. Gardening is generally considered a better way to eat healthy foods since you have more control over how the food is grown and how much nutrients it contains.

Get a free toothbrush and toothpaste from a local dentist, even if you’re not their patient. Some will lay out free samples that are available to anyone. You could potentially get other free personal hygiene products as well. See Free Samples & Gifts, Free With Coupons, and Local Freebie Scavenger Hunt.

Reduce Health Care Costs By Not Going To The Doctor

Sometimes people go to the doctor as a first line of defense, and that’s the best practice when symptoms include high fever, chest pain, or shortness of breath. However, most ailments can be treated at home, and if they can, then why pay the doctor for it?

Learn all you can about over the counter medicines, first aid and self-health care. Some of the resources to learn can be found at your local library. You can also find resources under Web Freebies.

This article is not written by a health care authority. It is for informational purposes only. If you feel you should see a doctor, then go see one, but you might have to pay for it, unless you can use one of the resources below.

If one of the resources below doesn’t work for you, then try a resource like Teledoc. With Teledoc you can call a doctor and describe your symptoms. They can do a full verbal medical workup on the phone, but obviously it won’t include a physical examination or any tests. If a prescription will help you then they’ll call it in to your local pharmacy. Teledoc has a flat fee, there’s very little waiting time compared to a doctor’s office, and there is no co-pay.

Become A Medical Test Subject

One possible way of getting free health care is to become a test subject for trial treatments. There are all kinds of medical trials. Some want healthy individuals, some want individuals with certain medical conditions. Some will compensate you with cash, others will simply treat the condition that you have. Most of them will come with simple medical services such as physical examination, vital signs, blood tests, and other medical tests.

Read more about becoming a medical test subject.

Get Free Health Care From Students

Getting free services from students is most common in technical trades, especially medical or health trades that require human subjects. This includes all forms of health care, such as medical, dental, physical therapy, podiatry, occupational therapy, nursing, medical technicians, and alternative health. The students are not licensed in their field because they are still in training, but they will always be supervised by licensed professionals. Since the students are still learning the trade, your session might take even longer than if you went to a licensed and experienced professional, but who can argue with the price?

Read more about getting free services from students which includes resources for finding clinics at health care schools.

Government Health Care Programs

The Emergency Room – Federal law gives you the right to emergency care. That means that any emergency room will stabilize your condition whether you can pay or not. Once your condition is stabilized then they can transfer you to another service.

The US Department of Health & Human Services has an agency called Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) which administers government-provided health care programs to citizens.

• Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD). Medicare often requires a supplemental plan by a third-party health insurance provider.
• Medicaid provides health coverage to low-income people.
• The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides federal matching funds to states to provide health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but who can’t afford private coverage.
• The Basic Health Program (BHP) allows states an option to provide affordable coverage and better continuity of care for people whose income fluctuates above and below Medicaid and CHIP eligibility levels.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides health care to US veterans.

Title X provides funding for family planning services.

Federal Employees have health insurance benefits, just like many other jobs that receive health insurance as a perk. The Defence Health Agency provides health care to active military personnel.

Contrary to popular belief, US politicians do not get free health care, but they’re still getting a pretty good deal.

HealthCare.gov will help individuals apply for various health care programs.

There may be state and local government-operated hospitals and other facilities that would provide free or cheap health care.

Charities & Non-Profit Free Health Care

The National Association of Free Clinics – “The National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) is the only nonprofit 501c(3) organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of the more than 1,200 free clinics and the people they serve in the United States.”

Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment (HIKE) provides free hearing aids to deaf children.

Other non-profits and charities will be added to the Non-Profits Directory as they are discovered. If you know of any that can be added, please let us know.

Free Medications, Pharmaceuticals & Drugs

Over-the-counter (OTC) medications and nutritional supplements are some of the many products that you can get free as a sample. See Free Samples & Gifts.

According to Forbes and Kiplinger, there are many pharmacies around the country that will give you free generic antibiotics as long as you have a prescription. These pharmacies include Stop & Shop, Publix, ShopRite. Giant, Meijer, and Wegmans.

You can also get free prenatal vitamins from Meijer and Schnucks.