Walgreens Clinics Will Provide Free Care to Some Jobless
People who are uninsured and lose their job after March 31, 2009 are being offered free care from Walgreens and its partner Take Care Health Systems, according to a press release. More than 340 Take Care Clinics operate out of Walgreens stores across 19 states.
The offer covers qualifying family members too, including a spouse, same-sex domestic partner or minor child, as long as he or she does not have health insurance benefits. The program covers most services including:
- Respiratory Illnesses, such as colds, sinus infections, bronchitis and strep throat
- Common Conditions, such as seasonal allergies, urinary tract infections and pink eye
- Skin Conditions, such as dry skin, poison ivy, and minor skin infections and burns
Take Care Recovery Plan patients can get the free care between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The offer does not cover health evaluations, vaccinations, physicals and injection/infusion administration. Once a patient gets a job, they are no longer eligible.
People can find out if they quality for the program at www.takecarehealth.com, or by calling l 1-866-Take-Care (1-866-825-3227).
The Take Care Clinics are just one of several retail, or store-based, clinic chains that have been popping up all around the country. Doctors are generally against the clinics for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it is more difficult to coordinate care if patients are seeing a variety of caregivers. Concern that the clinics will steal business from traditional doctors’ offices is also an issue though. Patients enjoy the convenience and lower prices at the clinics.
Retail clinics are typically only busy in the winter months, which has made it hard for them to survive. Recently, there was a wave of retail clinic closings. Walgreens, however, is still planning to open more clinics. This “free care” offer could help bring more people in the door for now.
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[...] Original post by Healthdame [...]
Wow. Thanks for this reminder, Health Dame. It’s amazing to see how people pull together in this country when times get tough. Albeit, Walgreens hopes to increase business by providing health care to some jobless, but that’s the beauty of capitalism. Americans have gotten in such a habit of talking about the evils of how our society works, and the media finds the negatives so much more fascinating to report, we sometimes forget how the system makes it need fulfilling to help each other out.If Walgreens provides health care to some jobless, and the company gets more business as a result, it’s win/win. Kudos, Walgreens!
I agree completely with you Trish. The more quality options we have, especially at times like these, the more of a “win” it is for the consumers/patients.
I think it’s great that Walgreens is offering this service. Otherwise, people would be stopping in the ER to treat these common problems or worse, not seeking treatment. Thanks for the reminder about the Health Dame program.
Just wanted to add that there is a separate site with all of the forms, info, etc. on this offer:
http://takecarerecoveryplan.com/recoveryplan/
You can get there by going to Takecarehealth.com, but this is the direct link