When you are anxious about finding care for yourself or your loved ones, you want to avoid the added stress of high bills and unrealistic financial demands.
Dear Stark Women is brought to you by the Stark County Health Dept.
Dear Stark Women provides resources for finding affordable care providers across Stark County. You should not have to weigh an illness or injury against the cost of visiting a medical provider. There are a handful of local medical offices that cater to those with no insurance or high deductibles. These facilities will accept major credit cards, as well as FSA and HSA credit cards.
Additionally, Community Health Centers (sometimes called Free Clinics) offer services- sometimes provided at a fee based on income. These services include:
- Vaccines for infants
- Prenatal care
- General primary care and
- Referrals for specialty care regarding health concerns like HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance abuse, etc.
Below are some tips for avoiding high prices at the doctor’s office.
- Ask what charges you can expect to see on your bill. Do this before receiving care to help avoid surprises.
- Don’t be afraid to ask if there are cheaper alternatives to the care that you’ll be receiving. There may be less expensive alternatives.
- After receiving a bill, check that prices are correct. Review all services, tests, and medications on the bill. Confirm that you received them. Clerical errors occur and an incorrect medical fee may arise because of human error.
- Negotiate how you will pay. You do not have to pay the entire bill at once. Providers are often willing to set up a regular payment plan.
You can find resources for affordable care on the Dear Stark Women website.
Dear Stark Women is a one-stop landing page to help families find and get connected to local resources. The goal of the landing page is to increase awareness of and access to needed resources for after-hours care, affordable care, reproductive care, healthy relationships, mental health, transportation and more. For more information, visit https://dear-stark-women-starkcohealthoh.hub.arcgis.com.
Audrey Mattevi, Reporting
