Getting the medical care that you need can be extremely expensive, even prohibitively so  if you do not have any health insurance in place.

However, there are ways you access better medical care even if you don’t have health insurance. Not having insurance doesn’t mean having to skip the healthcare that you need.

These are the five resources that you should be aware of if you’re looking to find medical care without health insurance.

1. Connect With Local Resources

One of the first things you can explore are the local resources for healthcare.

A great place to start is through community programs that focus on medical treatment and healthcare. These can include local community hospitals, emergency centers, and even nonprofits in your community.

These places often feature sliding scale fees, accessible payment methods, and even payment plans that can help you handle the financial cost of medical care.

Do note that these programs often have lengthy wait lists, so it’s better to start your search sooner rather than later.

Try booking an appointment ahead of time rather than waiting till the last minute to get the care that you’re looking for.

2. Opt for Generics Over Brands 

Generic prescription medications can save you a lot of money especially if you don’t have medical insurance.

There are a lot of misunderstandings when it comes to what generic medicines actually are. Let’s clear up a few of these misconceptions so that you can buy generic prescriptions with confidence.

According to the FDA, generic prescriptions have to match the brand name alternative when it comes to their strength, efficacy, side effects, and a variety of other factors. In short, generic medications have to be nearly identical to the costly brand alternatives.

Generic prescriptions are also the majority of prescriptions filled in the United States. Many people use generic prescriptions without realizing that they’re not using the brand name pill.

You can use generic medications for your Healthcare without worrying about compromising on quality. This will help you save money as generic medicines are often far cheaper even if you don’t have insurance.

3. Be Prepared for Medical Emergencies

One of the ways to approach your healthcare is by looking at the two different categories of medical situations that will pop up in our lifetime. There are medical conditions that we can anticipate, and medical emergencies that we need to prepare for.

You can likely anticipate some amount of your general wellness and medical needs. This can range from health problems that are common in your family to routine medical care that almost everyone needs such as dental checkups and preventative care.

However, there are medical conditions that can’t be anticipated. Sudden accidents and illnesses have a way of creeping up without ever being detectable.

Being prepared for medical emergencies can help reduce your costs. This is essential if you do not have health insurance.

Medical preparedness can include everything from having some supplies on hand to help you handle an unexpected injury to making sure you have a plan in place if you have to miss work for an extended period of time.

Not having health insurance doesn’t have to mean that a medical emergency also represents a financial emergency. Planning for an emergency can help reduce the financial burden of a sudden healthcare need.

4. Understand How Insurance Works

Understanding how health insurance works can also help you manage your telemedicine costs even if you don’t plan on getting health insurance in the near future.

Health insurance doesn’t cover all of your medical costs. You also have to pay a monthly premium to keep your health insurance going.

Health insurance also may or may not cover your medical condition or the specific medicines you’re looking to purchase.

A good example of this is CBD and medical marijuana. The issue of whether or not medical marijuana and CBD is covered by health insurance is a complicated one.

Health insurance companies that operate within a single state might be able to cover CBD and other cannabis products. However, current law makes it difficult for national insurance companies to cover these healthcare products.

It’s not just cutting edge treatments that insurance struggles to cover. Many people with health insurance find that they lack adequate access to healthcare.

Telemedicine services offer an effective alternative to traditional healthcare. This can become even more useful if you don’t have insurance but you’re still looking for a reliable way to get the medications that you need.

5. Take Advantage of Telemedicine

Telemedicine offers you a way to get access to doctors, medications, and healthcare services without having to go through all of the lengthy wait times for traditional health care.

There are also telemedicine services that allow you to order medications online. These services even come with access to a doctor that can prescribe you with the medication that you’re looking for.

Telemedicine services also feature shorter wait times. They’re especially effective for people who don’t have insurance who also want to skip the lengthy weights that often come with community health care centers.

Telemedicine programs also operate with a much lower overhead which allows them to reduce costs. You can find a telemedicine program that can let you speak to a doctor in no time at all so you can get the medication you need quickly without having to wait.

You’ve now got five resources that can help you access better telemedicine and healthcare even if you don’t currently have health insurance.

These resources can cover everything from long-term treatment to quick trips to the doctor to get medication for an illness that just popped up.

French and Canadian researchers discovered antibiotic resistant bacteria in clouds according to last month’s edition of the journal Science of The Total Environment. Between September 2019 and October 2021 high-flow rate impingers (vacuums) were deployed  at the meteorological station of the puy de Dôme summit (elevation 4,806 ft)where they collected samplings of twelve clouds and analyzed total airborne bacterial concentration. What they found out was concerning. 29 antibiotic resistance genes were discovered over marine and continental environments. Analysis of the bacteria revealed an average of  8,000 bacteria per milliliter of cloud water. In addition, the clouds contained, on average, 20,800 copies of antibiotic-resistance genes per milliliter of cloud water. The bacteria analyzed are a normal part of the environment and are found on plants and in soil. The bacteria are picked up by wind or human activity and are carried up to the atmosphere and distributed throughout the clouds, and disseminated back to the environment.

Between 5 and 50 percent of these bacteria could be alive and active, according to researchers.

“This is the first study to show that clouds harbor antibiotic resistance genes of bacterial origin in concentrations comparable to other natural environments,” says Florent Rossi, first author of the study and postdoctoral fellow in the team of Caroline Duchaine, a professor at Université Laval’s Faculty of Science and Engineering and a researcher at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute-Université Laval.

Widespread use of antibiotics in medicine and farm animals is speculated to contribute to the proliferation of these antibiotic resistant genes. Further research is needed to understand the health implications of this discovery.  

Bacteria resistant genes discovered in the cloud samples

Bacteria resistant genes discovered in clouds and antibiotic examples

• Quinolone- ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, enoxacin, perfloxacin, moxifloxacin and levofloxacin
• Sulfonamide- Bactrim, Bactrim DS, Septra, Septra DS.
• Tetracycline- lymecycline, methacycline, minocycline, rolitetracycline, and doxycycline
• Glycopeptide- vancomycin, teicoplanin, and ramoplanin
• Aminoglycoside- gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, plazomicin, streptomycin, neomycin, and paromomycin
• B-lactamase- oxacillin (IV), nafcillin (IV), dicloxacillin (PO)]
• Macrolide- Azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin

How widespread is antibiotic resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance is an urgent global public health threat, killing at least 1.27 million people worldwide and associated with nearly 5 million deaths in 2019. In the U.S., more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year. More than 35,000 people die as a result, according to CDC’s 2019 Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Threats Report.

If antibiotics lose their effectiveness the ability to treat infections is lost.

How to fight antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance spreads in a variety of settings. From hospitals (nosocomial infections) to everyday life, veterinary use of antibiotics, antibiotics in the food supply (poultry, beef, etc) and now, as demonstrated, by soil and water through clouds.

• Personal hygiene- wash hands after using bathroom and before eating or preparing food. After using bathroom, preparing food or coming home from being in public, immediately wash hands to prevent spread of infectious agents that you may have picked up while out of the house. Wash hands for at least 20-30 seconds.
• Brush teeth after eating. Streptococcus mutans, a common bacteria found in the mouth, is the main cause of tooth decay. Tooth decay can lead to infections throughout the body.
• Practice safe sex. Antibiotic resistance to gonorrhea according to the CDC now needs to be treated with two antibiotics at the same time. In addition, there is evidence that chlamydia and syphilis are developing antibiotic resistance.
• Keep your immune system in top shape. Reduce or eliminate sugar from your diet, exercise daily, reduce stress. Stress makes you more susceptible to infection. Quality sleep also promotes health.
• Antibiotics kill bacteria and some fungal infections. They are ineffective with viral infections. Only use when needed.
• Finish the complete course of prescribed antibiotic unless otherwise instructed by your care provider. Use only when needed don’t “save” meds for another round of illness. This practice can cause antibiotic resistance.
• Avoid/sparingly use antibacterial hand sanitizers. These products have been found to cause antibiotic resistance.