Option 2 if your employer doesn’t offer health insurance

Negotiate a discount on your healthcare

More than one in three people living in poverty are uninsured. More than 80 percent come from working families, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit foundation focusing on healthcare issues in the United States. Yet everyone has healthcare needs.

If you don’t have insurance and can’t pay your medical bills, try to negotiate a discount or a better bill payment plan with your doctors, the urgent care center, the hospital – wherever you get care. It won’t always work, but at least you can ask. The worst they can do is say “no.” Still, odds are good that you’ll negotiate a discount or a payment plan on your medical bills.

You may have better luck negotiating with:

• A doctor who knows you and has treated you before
• A non-profit hospital
• A hospital with a financial assistance programs
• A hospital with a patient advocate or financial counselor

Option #1. Buy an individual health insurance policy

Option #3. Get help with medication costs

Watch the Healthcare Video: What Do You Do If Your Employer Doesn’t Offer Health Insurance?