Walgreens Offering Free Care To Unemployed and Uninsured
Bill Lindner
April 01, 2009
Walgreens will reportedly offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of 2009 -- they'll provide tests and routine treatment for minor ailments through their walk-in clinics -- but patients will still have to pay for prescriptions.
Patients losing their jobs and health insurance after March 31 will be able to get free treatment for respiratory ailments, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other problems whose treatments would normally cost $59 or more with no insurance at Walgreen's Take Care clinics. Uninsured spouses and children will also be eligible for the free services.
Walgreens plan is described as being something close to an experiment. Take Care Health Systems chairman Hal Rosenbluth said Walgreens is unsure of patient demand or how much providing those services might cost the company.
Walgreen's experiment will probably end up generating more attention for the Take Care clinics. Rosenbluth noted that a typical patient to their clinic tells eight other people about their experiences and so far about 30 percent of the clinic's patients were new customers to Walgreens.
The experimental program is currently expected to last through the end of 2009. Walgreens currently runs 341 Take Care clinics in 35 markets around the country. Quest Diagnostics will also be participating in the experimental program by offering tests for strep throat and urinary tract infections for free.
Free Services Offered From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday Through Friday
The free services will reportedly only be offered between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The services offered will not include free checkups, vaccinations or other injections because the focus is on providing services patients might otherwise get from an Urgent-care center or a hospital emergency room.
To utilize the free services being offered by Walgreens, patients will have to prove they are unemployed by providing a Federal or State unemployment determination letter and a check stub from an unemployment check. They'll also have to sign a form at the clinic stating that they have lost their jobs and health benefits.
If a patient finds a new job or gets new health insurance, they will lose their eligibility for free clinic care.
The Take Care clinics, who say they have seen about 1.2 million patients since being launched in November 2005, were bought by Walgreens in May 2007. Take Care estimates that 30 percent of the patients seen were uninsured. A full list of Take Care Clinic services that are generally priced at $59 and above and locations can be found from TakeCareHealth.com.
Patients losing their jobs and health insurance after March 31 will be able to get free treatment for respiratory ailments, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other problems whose treatments would normally cost $59 or more with no insurance at Walgreen's Take Care clinics. Uninsured spouses and children will also be eligible for the free services.
Walgreens plan is described as being something close to an experiment. Take Care Health Systems chairman Hal Rosenbluth said Walgreens is unsure of patient demand or how much providing those services might cost the company.
Walgreen's experiment will probably end up generating more attention for the Take Care clinics. Rosenbluth noted that a typical patient to their clinic tells eight other people about their experiences and so far about 30 percent of the clinic's patients were new customers to Walgreens.
The experimental program is currently expected to last through the end of 2009. Walgreens currently runs 341 Take Care clinics in 35 markets around the country. Quest Diagnostics will also be participating in the experimental program by offering tests for strep throat and urinary tract infections for free.
Free Services Offered From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday Through Friday
The free services will reportedly only be offered between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The services offered will not include free checkups, vaccinations or other injections because the focus is on providing services patients might otherwise get from an Urgent-care center or a hospital emergency room.
To utilize the free services being offered by Walgreens, patients will have to prove they are unemployed by providing a Federal or State unemployment determination letter and a check stub from an unemployment check. They'll also have to sign a form at the clinic stating that they have lost their jobs and health benefits.
If a patient finds a new job or gets new health insurance, they will lose their eligibility for free clinic care.
The Take Care clinics, who say they have seen about 1.2 million patients since being launched in November 2005, were bought by Walgreens in May 2007. Take Care estimates that 30 percent of the patients seen were uninsured. A full list of Take Care Clinic services that are generally priced at $59 and above and locations can be found from TakeCareHealth.com.
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