You may not have intended it, but your wording made it sound as though Planned parenthood is only for women. Guys are welcome too! Beyond making sure our reproductive parts are working well, many PP clinics offer flu shots and other health services we don't normally associate with procreation. Spread the word!

Great post.

This is very timely for many people. I would add if you know you will be laid off or fear it-- get all your medical and dental visits in while you still have coverage.

FYI: Most people who don't have insurance or money for doctors do not even have a "family" doctor (and one assumes you mean a GP?).

Getting a referral from a friend to a physician may get them a name and a visit, but it's still the exception for physician to negotiate down their fees--cash or not. If you're lucky, they will treat you and let you pay as you go. Or give you an extended payment plan.

In many places, many physicians are already NOT taking any kind of insurance (government or private)--and require cash or credit card payment at the time of visit. These folks tend to have more reasonable fees (but not always), but again you need to pay up front.

You need to bring up the money issue with a physician because he has to understand that you may not be able to afford followup visits, tests or meds he would routinely order. My sister in law is going thru this now in Florida.

Her doctor has driven her to tears in his office by ignoring her and writing up tons of tests and meds --plus dragging out office visits instead of consolidating---and making it seem as if my sister in law is NOT choosing to get treatment--like she has the money but can't spend it. Hardly the case.

If you want to negotiate, you need to talk to the office or practice manager. The doctors themselves rarely get involved in this (maybe in a very small community). Being calm, polite and honest about your situation can help. Don't panic, don't pressure, don't beg and do not demand. The payment issue affects treatment options and timing, so it is part of the whole medical service.

I once had to have emergency surgery. I met the doctor who would ultimately perform it less than 24 hours before I ended up having surgery. As I waited in his office afterwards (his nurse had to get me into a hospital), I explained the situation to the office manager (no insurance, would have to pay myself, self-employed). She told me what she thought the hospital bills might be (Huge and out of her hands. The cost of my two-day stay for minor surgery? I could have stayed at a five-star spa for maybe a month!)

Then she told me the doctor's fee. It wasn't cheap, but it was reasonable, especially in comparison to the other costs involved.

I'm fairly certain that the surgeon's fees, which included weekly visits for four months and twice a week visits for two post surgery, were greatly reduced as they were only slightly more than the anesthesiologists (for 15 minutes work!).

It never hurts to ask. And it never hurts to reiterate: How can we combine visits, tests? How can we schedule treatments to be sure it's the most cost effective.

As a last resort, you can ask for any other local resources or physicians who might help.

As for the store clinics you mention, their quality varies greatly and they really are only good for small, not serious stuff. They're not going to be the folks who really check you out and can identify serious concerns you may not even be aware of.

It's a sad thing in our country today where people cannot afford either preventative care or even emergency care.

The system is set up to charge more to those who can least afford it. (And for those folks who pay insurance and are so annoyed because they feel they are "subsidizing" the healthcare of others? Wake up. That's not the case. You should be more upset in the inequality of what people are charged for the same level of care in the same facility based on WHO their insurer is or whether they have them. There are plenty of people without insurance who are in debt, have been forced to sell their homes, etc. to pay bills for services that are billed to them many times over what YOU pay. THEY are often subsidizing YOUR healthcare!)

Hello everyone,

I posted this same basic comment, on the "great deals" forum, but I think it's definitely worth posting here as well...

If you've had good experiences with discount plans (like I have), you may want to look at this website I found called, http://www.helpfulbenefits.com. It contains three different "benefit packages" and one if them is a Health Benefits package. It basically combines 5 different health benefit plans for about $17/month...which included my entire family. The plan contains discounts with prescriptions, vision care (through Coast-to-Coast), dental care (through Aetna Dental Access), chiropractic care, and some program called Teladoc (which you can call and talk live to a doctor - no charge).

The website also has benefit packages for other "non-health related" things like LifeLock and Legal Care Direct. All the packages seem to be around $15/month, and they include your immediate family. Anyway, great experiences all the way around, and great bang for your buck.

-Jeremy