The health care system is slowly correcting itself with market forces.  The key to this transition is that we all start to take advantage of the low cost options that are available.  With this in mind I am recommending that when anyone is sick, but not so bad that they need to go to the emergency room, they go first to a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant.  The cost of involved going to this type of clinic is much less than going to a physician and especially the emergency room.

You can find these clinics popping up all over the place.  Most of them take insurance and even if you do not have insurance the cost for  most services ranges between $50 and $100.  This is a great alternative when you have a sore throat or aches in your back.  You can get checked out by a health care professional, that can prescribe many kinds of medication, and if something is really wrong they will refer you to a physician or send you to the emergency room.  These clinics are also open on Saturday and Sunday.  So if you are sick on a weekend just head in during their hours and you can get help at a low cost.  They also promise speedy service.  Most will guarantee you get seen within 15 minutes.  Another great advantage is they are popping up in major retailers and pharmacies. So you can shop while you wait.  You can now find these Clinics at Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreen’s, CVS, and some grocery stores.  All the links will take you to the website where you can search and see if a store with a clinic is in your area.  If none of these stores have a clinic in your area try searching at nurse.net.

I have one just down the street from me inside of my Bi-Lo grocery store.  They cover the areas of diagnostic tests, immunizations and vaccinations, physicals, illness and disease counseling, and wellness programs.  Most items on their schedule of costs were in the $50-$60 range with some up to $100.

I am sure you see how this saves money but you are wondering how it can save lives.  With low cost health care, that is also time efficient, available people will be more willing get checked out.  This also takes strain off of the emergency rooms and will put some pressure on the family physicians who have been taking their customers for granted by offering poor service and inflated prices.  I should not  have to wait an hour after the appointment time I set up a week in advance to see a doctor for 10 minutes and not know how much the thief is going to charge me.  That is ridiculous.  It is time to demand the service from our medical professionals that we get from a restaurant.  Clear, easy to understand prices and timely service.  If I could get that I might even give the doctor a tip.