Five Cent Dime

No matter where you stand on the health care reform debate, nearly everyone can agree that more efficiencies in the health care system would be much appreciated.

For those of you who have no health insurance, PLEASE get some yesterday! If an insurance carrier will write a health insurance policy for you, you should have coverage as one of your most basic expenses. Food, shelter (basic utilities) and clothing would likely be the only expenses that should be paid before making sure you are covered by a health insurance plan. A good website you can go to quote health insurance premiums is http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/.

Well now that I am down from my soapbox, I can move on to provide you with some info worth exactly what you will pay for it.

If you do not have health insurance or if you have a plan that requires you to pay a large deductible before receiving coverage for doctor visits, then I have a possible solution for you. Popping up all over the country are  walk-in clinics staffed with nurse practitioners and physician assistants. They are typically inside select chain drugstores such as Minute Clinic inside CVS, Take Care Clinic at Walgreens. There is also the Target Walk-In Clinic and the Walmart Walk-In Clinic.

These clinics are not able to provide emergency services or major medical work; rather they can, as CVS puts it, “diagnose and treat common illnesses, minor injuries, and skin conditions”. They also offer health screenings, checkups, and most vaccinations. The pricing structure at these clinics works completely different than how most people normally pay for medical services. The clinics will typically have a set menu of services and the exact cost to provide that service. Below is a sample menu provided by CVS minute clinic.

If you do have insurance which offers you a lower co-pay to go to the doctor, they do accept that insurance and the lower co-pay. These clinics will not immediately save the health care industry, but they certainly will provide some desperately needed relief from doctor’s offices and emergency rooms around the country. These clinics can also be a huge help if you are traveling in another state away from your primary care doctor and you just need a quick diagnosis or prescription written.

Health care costs stay low when competition exists. Just as happened when Wal Mart first released a $4 price point for many 30 day generic prescriptions several years back, these clinics will have fierce competition and will assist in driving down the cost of certain sectors of health care.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 4:49 PM and is filed under General, Travel, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.