Resources for the Uninsured, Underinsured, and Insured

Note: The information contained in this article is for
educational purposes and is not medical advice.

No insurance coverage? As of 2004, there are approximately 44 million people in the United States who have no health insurance and no health coverage. With unemployment rising, this number keeps increasing. While we would all like to be covered financially in case of a health crisis, insurance is simply not reachable for many. Lack of financial coverage is also a reality for people who are underinsured, and often even for people who are insured. While we focus this page on the situation of the uninsured, we’re happy for anyone to benefit from it.

Often it seems like programs for financial help are only for people of no or very low income, or only for those with serious health problems. Those who have chronic illnesses and work without receiving insurance benefits, and those who, for example, work two jobs and struggle to make ends meet and stay healthy at the same time, often seem neglected in terms of receiving financial assistance. Those who have insurance may find it doesn’t pay for the alternative treatments that really help their condition. Regardless of circumstance, the current health care crisis in the U.S. calls for creative solutions. Thus we include tips for saving money on all kinds of health care and finding other ways for getting your needs met.

What actually “insures” or “ensures” your health? Remember, health insurance does not actually “insure that you will be healthy.” Health insurance is primarily meant to help pay some of the bills if you become sick and seek conventional medical treatment, because of the high costs of those services. Sometimes medical treatment can help restore health, especially in the case of accidents or injuries, so insurance can be very valuable in those cases and surely, none of us like being without it. However, also note that health insurance typically does not cover most alternative treatments (i.e., treatments other than drugs and surgery), or preventive services. We encourage you to be proactive and take steps to stay healthy on your own, to avoid the need for paying for medical care. Our Foundation teaches how to do that, so please explore all our entire website and all our programs to help you be healthy.

We’ve separated these health resources into three categories:

• Prevention, so you avoid the necessity of health care treatment in the first place.
• Funded programs, which are often based upon income (but not always), and are sponsored by non-profit organizations or state and federal governments.
• Effective health care consumerism, including money-saving tips for when you health care must be purchased by you. This section is especially written for those people whose incomes are not low enough to qualify them as needy in government and other programs, but whose lives are affected by high medical costs.

This information is provided as a service. We have tried to sort through information to find truly helpful resources. The Stoll Foundation for Holistic Health does not take responsibility for any website or resource listed here. The contents are solely the responsibility of their originators, and the Stoll Foundation for Holistic Health shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by making use of any of this information.

Please note that as a non-profit organization, we may not provide links to commercial enterprises or businesses. One of our program sponsors, Life Spring Healing Arts, has a page with links to commercial businesses that might be helpful to people who are uninsured or seeking to stretch their health care dollars. See our sponsors page for a link to the website page.