Health Insurance & Access to Care
Finding Care for the Uninsured and Underinsured
Bureau of Primary Health Care ·
No Number Listed
This branch of the (US) Department of Health and Human Services maintains
a web site where people can search for the nearest clinics that offer free
healthcare services for the uninsured.
Finding Help for Insurance Problems
(Keeping
Insurance, Appealing Denials, Help With Medical Debt, Co-Pay Assistance)
State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP)
These programs, available in each state, offer
face-to-face assistance to Medicare Beneficiaries and their families. To
find the SHIP program nearest you, call your local Area Agency for the
Aging or visit/contact the following:
Health Assistance Partnership · 202-737-6340
For an explanation of the SHIP program and to locate the one closest to you, click on “SHIP Locater.”Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 800-633-4227
To locate SHIP programs, click on Medicare, then enter “SHIP” in the search box. Click on the link for SHIP (Partner with CMS) then scroll down and click on “List of State health Insurance Offices.”Health Insurance Resource Center · 800-798-8447
Originally established for actors, this site has expanded to include resources for individuals and families, low-income workers, the self-employed, the under-insured and people who fall into many other categories. Visitors to this site can find state-specific information regarding access to insurance; rights and protections; complaints and appeals; choosing providers; and managing medical debt and more.The Patient Advocate Foundation · 800-532-5274
This organization offers a variety of health-insurance-related information (in English and Spanish); case managers to help individuals; and some assistance with co-pays.Information About National Health Care/Insurance/Expenditures
The Center for Studying Health System Change · 202-484-5261
This site offers a variety of tracking reports as well as other information about health insurance and health expenditures.Insurance Reform – National Commission/Perspectives/Reports
Citizens Healthcare Working Group ·
301-443-1502
Created by the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement
and Modernization Act of 2003, this group was assigned the task of
reaching out to America’s citizens through public meetings across America
and the Internet, asking them what they think about healthcare in the
United States and then recommending improvements for providing all
citizens with healthcare services. At this point, recommendations have
been made and are posted on their web site. Visitors to the site can read
and comment on the recommendations, read the comments of others and find
information about our current healthcare system.
Perspectives
Advocates for a Free-Market: A free-market is one in which business (in this case, the business of health insurance) “…is governed by the laws of supply and demand, not restrained by government interference, regulation or subsidy.” (Source: investorwords.com)
The Galen Institute · 703-299-8900
The Libertarian Party
Advocates for Single-Payer Universal Coverage By the Federal Government
Physicians for a National Health Plan · 312-782-7762
Campaign for a National Health Program · 212-475-8350 · 800-453-1305
Reports
Government Accountability Office
· No Number
Listed
Two U.S. Government reports offer an analysis of what
Canadian-style health insurance would mean for the United States. To read
the reports, enter “HRD-91-90” in the “Key word or Report #” search box.
This will bring up a list that includes links to this report and its
follow-up report, a year later: HRD-92-20R.