Medical and Dental Clinics That Are Free or Use a Sliding Scale

In today's tough economy many jobs are being laid off and workers are losing their health care benefits. While some may continue to pay the monthly premium on their own, others simply can't afford to. There are some clinics for both medical and dental that will provide care for free or based on a sliding scale fee.

What is a sliding scale fee? It's where the medical/dental office will take in account how much your weekly salary is and how many people live in your household. Discounts can range from $5-100's of dollars depending on what is needed. Some free clinics may only ask if you could spend a few dollars in donation to help continue their services. Below are free and sliding scale clinics. Some local low cost or free clinics may require you to submit two recent paycheck stubs and proof you live in the county of the clinic. Ask if living in the county of the clinic is required in able to receive services.

Planned Parenthood is usually a sliding scale clinic mostly aimed at sexual and reproductive health. You simply enter a zip code on their website to find the closest office. The website includes office hours, services and address information. Currently if you are unemployed and no one else is in your household, services are free. To have an exact idea of how much of a sliding scale fee would be, you'd need to contact your local planned parenthood. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

Dental Colleges In Your Area many times offer dental work at inexpensive prices. While the work is done by a college student, the work is supervised by a certified dentist. Call your local dentist college to find out if they provide any dental work.

Free Medical Camps is a website that offers state by state listings of free medical and dental clinics. If you know of a free dental or medical clinic that isn't listed, you can submit a new listing. Be sure to verify the information is correct. I found one dental place that did contain the correct address but incorrect phone number. Looking up on a website such as whitepages.com or local Yahoo may be a good idea to verify the information. http://www.freemedicalcamps.com/index.php

Walmart Clinic is a fairly new service offered by the mass merchant chain Wal*Mart but has claimed Walmart does not own the clinic. The clinic helps with basic medical issues such as cholesterol screens, ear aches, blood sugar, minor wounds, acne and more. The average price for a visit to the clinic is around $65.00. Currently these clinics are open 7 days a week and no appointment is necessary. These clinics currently are not in every store. To find one closest to you, log on and enter your zip code. http://www.walmart.com/clinics

With all dental and medical clinics it's a good idea to first always verify whether they are a free or sliding scale fee office before making any appointments or walking in. Some clinics may change their policies so be sure to verify all information.