Saving on healthcare: Low-cost, no cost services in the Upstate

(WSPA) – One in eight people in South Carolina has no healthcare insurance.

That’s more than 500,000 who are earning too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to get an Affordable Care Act plan.

Thousands more are underinsured with high deductibles they can’t afford.  If you are struggling to pay medical costs, there are more options than you might think, some of which offer healthcare that’s completely free.

There was a time not too long ago when Michelle Luke, a diabetic dependent on insulin, faced a grim reality.

“I could live in my car and get my medicine, or I could stay in my house and I could find some help,” Luke said.

Help for the uninsured

She said she found a lifeline in the Greenville Free Medical Clinic which covers primary care, specialists and prescriptions.

“I would have had to come up with essentially almost two entire paychecks a month just to cover my insulin,” Luke added.

Clinic director, Suzie Foley, said they take only patients who meet these qualifications:

• uninsured
• household income of below twice the Federal Poverty line, the cutoff salary for a family of four would be about $62,000
• patient does not use other health providers unless the clinic does not offer that service

“And the types of jobs they are working, part time, contract labor, self employed, small business, don’t offer health benefits. So they are truly the working poor and falling through the cracks and really do not have access to healthcare,” Foley said.

You’ll find at least one Free Medical Clinic in every county in the Upstate, and some have satellite offices to serve more.  But, there are other options if you don’t qualify.

Help for the under-insured

Families who have insurance but not adequate coverage can still save at centers like Unity Health on Main in Greenville.

“We have a sliding scale program available for all of our patients with or without insurance because even with insurance if they have a high deductible they may need to be on our sliding scale program. So we go based on family size, family income based on that depends on where they fall and how much they pay,” Norma Jean Suarez, the Executive Director at Unity Health, said.

Unity Health, and centers like it, also have bilingual translators plus access to mental health services and help with food and proper nutrition.

Other low-cost healthcare options in the Upstate that can help the under-insured include, New Horizons Family Health Center in Greenville and ReGenesis Healthcare serving Spartanburg, Union and Cherokee counties.

Help with Rx drugs

Back at the Free Clinic, patients like Eller Hendricks get prescriptions right on-site. She’s upfront about the difference it’s made as she deals with menopause.

“I started getting medications for what I needed, and to start to feel relief, oh my God,” Hendricks said.

Now, for the “underinsured,” they may qualify for Welvista , a non-profit pharmacy that sends you prescriptions for a fraction of the cost.

Help with vision issues

When it comes to vision, another non-profit Servants for Sight , who we caught bagging sunglasses for missions abroad, helps thousands in the Upstate get free glasses and even cataract surgery.

“And we’ve had so many patients that will come back in the future and just tell us that we gave them back their life, we gave them back their hope,” Jennifer Reyes, with Servants for Sight, said.

So whether it’s life-saving or simply life-paying for healthcare doesn’t have to be as much of a struggle if you know where to turn.

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