Affordable options for those in healthcare no-man’s-land
Over the last 90 years, when adjusted for inflation, spending on healthcare in America increased by over 3,000%. In addition to spending, healthcare costs are also rising exponentially. ACA premiums are going up for older, middle-class folks at an alarming rate and those who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid find themselves in healthcare no-man’s-land.
For those South Carolinians in this healthcare quandry, what options do they have? That’s the question that we sought to answer with our interactive map of affordable healthcare options:
The map allows visitors to search all the affordable healthcare options close to their home address. Key to this map is the understanding that medical care doesn’t have to involve insurance. There are lots options outside of the traditional third-party payer model.
Three affordable options we have included are:
- Free Medical Clinics. These are pretty self-explanatory – Free Medical Clinics are healthcare organizations run by staff and volunteers that offer services to disadvantaged individuals for little to no cost.
- Federally Qualified Healthcare Clinics. Community-based outpatient clinics that provide primary care services in underserved areas. These clinics qualify for reimbursements under Medicare and Medicaid.
- Direct Primary Care Clinics. These clinics are less immediately recognizable to most people. Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an innovative membership-based healthcare model that affordably covers all routine and preventive services. With a focus on overall well-being, DPC clinics do NOT accept insurance and pride themselves on unhurried primary care with an emphasis on restoring affordability and the doctor-patient relationship.
We hope this tool can be an evergreen resource to South Carolinians in need of an alternative to their current medical care.
