Programs to Help the Uninsured

Approximately 46 million Americans had no health insurance as of 2010, according to Cover The Uninsured, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Finding ways to pay for health care services often presents difficulties if you lack health coverage, especially if you're a low-income individual or family. Fortunately, many programs--both publicly and privately funded--exist for the uninsured so that needy individuals and families can receive care.

Medicaid

• Medicaid is a health insurance program jointly funded by the federal government and states for low-income families and individuals. Individual states set age and income eligibility requirements. A few of the major groups eligible for Medicaid include pregnant women, children ages 6 to 19 whose parents fit the income qualifications, the disabled and supplemental security income (SSI) recipients. Medicaid pays for a managed health care plan and provides essential health care benefits to members, such as inpatient hospitalizations, laboratory and x-ray work, physicians' services, pregnancy-related services and dental services. Typically, Medicaid beneficiaries receive this care free of charge and pay no out-of-pocket expenses, although a minimal co-payment for services may be required in some states, depending on income.

Children's Health Insurance Program

• The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides low-cost health insurance and health care services to children up to age 19. Pregnant women and their unborn children may also qualify; coverage generally includes prenatal care, lab testing, labor and delivery costs and 60-days postpartum care. The program targets children whose parents fall into the low-income category, but earn too much to be covered under the state-administered Medicaid program. Generally, eligible families include those whose income falls at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Each state designs its own CHIP program under federal guidelines, setting eligibility criteria, benefit packages and payment levels for coverage. Mandatory, free-of-charge services include preventive care, immunizations and routine checkups, but additional services may cost extra depending on the individual state.

Community Health Centers

• Community health centers and clinics provide free or low-cost access to health care providers, such as physicians, nurses and dentists. Services provided vary depending on your location, but include everything from basic doctor's visits and health screenings to prenatal care for pregnant women and mental health services. Community mental health centers are often run by local city or county agencies and receive federal or state dollars. However, many privately organized and funded health centers also exist. Individuals who receive health care services at a community mental health center often pay for services on a sliding scale based upon their income and ability to pay.

Prescription Programs

• Prescription programs help individuals and families with no prescription medication coverage obtain access to needed medicines, such as antibiotics, pain medicine, anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs, and diabetic prescriptions. State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs, or SPAPs, provide direct subsidies using state funds to pay a portion of the costs of prescription medications for individuals who meet enrollment criteria. Thirty-two states had SPAP programs in operation as of January 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Low-cost prescription programs are also run by private companies, such as Wal-Mart, The Kroger Company and Target. These companies use generic forms of medications when fulfilling prescriptions for individuals, often only charging about $4 for each prescription, depending on the specific medication needed.