Ugh.
As someone who has only had insurance for about 2 years out of the last 8 (a few months here...a few months there...my husband is a contractor, and 800 dollars a month for insurance for me has been out of the question. Scraping together 800 a month for our son has been hard enough. Can we all say Ramen? Phooey) I've done the insurance dance for waaaaay too long. Here are the PIA tips and tricks I've learned:
- Contact the drug comapnies. They're usually willing to give you a years work of meds free *IF* your doctor writes a letter pleading your case.
- Talk with your doctor, ask if either they'd be willing to pro-bono you (It's the docs decision on whether or not to bill...they're usually willing to eat a certain amount -like for routine medical care, or emergencies- for patients who've lost their abillity to pay.)
- Talk with your DENTIST. Many dentists are also willing to eat a certain percentage of their patients cost.
- Talk with your healthcare providers about loooooong slow payments. I pay my dentist 20 bucks a month (and have for years). A few times my account has actually been in the black and I still pay into it...which helps it not be QUITE so far in the red the next time we go in for x,y, or z.
- Talk with your doctor & hospital about freebies (drug samples, needles, etc.). The reps are always dropping things off trying to get the physicians to go with their product instead.
- Free needle exchanges ( I have a friend who's diabetic who goes though one of the needle exchange places, because their insurance actually doesn't cover syringes!!! The insulin, yes. The delivery system, no. How ridiculous is that???)
- Country Hospitals. They're the only ones REQUIRED to take you whether or not you can pay. ((In FL...all emergency room care is free for anyone unable to pay...the only people who pay are those who have insurance.)) The wait at County is always MUCH longer (because low and behold over 45,000,000 people in this country don't have flippin' insurance...and most of us can't afford to pay 200 to see the doctor + ###-###-#### for labwork + 300 for antibiotics). Heck, for some of us, that 30 dollar copay is hard.
- The 5 minute clinic that's available at most MAJOR (aka large) pharmacies. They usually cost about 20 bucks, plus the cost of any meds.
- DSHS...it's very very very difficult these days to qualify for or to get state sponsored health coverage. But you never know until you try. At the very least, for your children.
- Canada.
Good Luck