Walgreens giving free care to jobless and uninsured

Payday loans are available for the uninsured who need to pay for a doctor’s visit on the fly. However, you shouldn’t always have to do that in order to receive basic care for minor ailments. For the remainder of 2009, that’s where Walgreens comes in. They’re a company that officially gets it right during this recession.

The Associated Press reports that the drugstore chain will continue to offer free clinic visits to theunemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year. Prescriptions will still have to be paid for, but tests and routine treatments for lesser ailments will be handled at walk-in clinics.

Save on basic health care when you are out of work

Walgreens has said those who lose their job and insurance after March 31, 2009 will be able to get free treatment at its in-store Take Care clinics. Respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions are among the conditions the clinics are equipped to handle. Treatments for conditions like these can cost upwards of $59 or more for patients without insurance, so this decision by Walgreens comes at the right time for thousands of people. Even spouses and children are eligible if they don’t have insurance of their own.

Walgreens currently runs 341 Take Care clinics in 35 markets around the country.  Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Cleveland are just a few places that have the service. Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Rather than providing free checkups or vaccinations, Take Care clinics provide the equivalent of urgent care or even ER service for those with minor conditions, according to the AP.

The catch?

Patients must show proof they are unemployed, which includes a federal or state unemployment determination letter and an unemployment check stub. Those looking to take advantage of Take Care clinic services must also sign a form declaring that they have lost their jobs and health benefits. Unfortunately, if a person has a job but not insurance, they will not be eligible for Take Care services.

According to the Associated Press, “Walgreens bought the Take Care clinics in May 2007. Take Care says it has seen about 1.2 million patients since its launch in November 2005 and estimates that up to 30 percent of them were uninsured.”