What are my options?
A few quick questions to help you find real ways to get and pay for care — no insurance, no account, and no sign-up required.
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Programs judge income as a percentage of the federal poverty level, not a flat dollar line — a rough guess is fine.
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Options worth exploring
Medicaid / CHIP (including state-funded programs)
Lower-income households; children and pregnant people qualify in far more situations than adults.
Comprehensive coverage with $0 or very low copays.
Rules change and depend on your exact situation — verify with the program before relying on this.
Health insurance Marketplace
Citizens and lawfully present immigrants without affordable job-based coverage.
Full private insurance; income-based premium tax credits for eligible statuses.
- Marketplace enrollment requires a lawfully present status. As of the June 2025 federal rule, DACA does not count as lawfully present, and undocumented people cannot enroll.
Rules change and depend on your exact situation — verify with the program before relying on this.
Emergency Medicaid
Anyone who would qualify for Medicaid by income but is excluded by immigration status.
Emergency conditions — including emergency labor and delivery — in every state, regardless of status.
- This is not ongoing coverage: it pays for qualifying emergencies. Hospitals often help patients apply after emergency care.
Rules change and depend on your exact situation — verify with the program before relying on this.
Community health centers (sliding-fee scale)
Everyone — no insurance, immigration status, or ability to pay required.
Primary care, prevention, and often dental/behavioral health, charged on a sliding scale based only on household income and family size (federal §330 requirement).
- Rede marks these as "sliding-fee scale" clinics in search results.
Each center publishes its own sliding-fee schedule — ask the front desk for it.
Hospital financial assistance (charity care)
Uninsured or under-insured patients at nonprofit hospitals — and at ALL hospitals in states with stronger laws.
Free or discounted hospital care. Federal law (IRS 501(r)) requires every nonprofit hospital to have a written financial assistance policy and caps what FAP-eligible patients can be charged at the rates insurers actually pay — never the sticker chargemaster price.
Apply BEFORE paying a large bill — assistance is often available retroactively, but it is far easier before collections start.
Emergency room rights (EMTALA)
Everyone, regardless of insurance, ability to pay, or immigration status.
Any hospital with an emergency department must screen you and stabilize an emergency condition — including active labor — before asking about payment.
EMTALA guarantees screening and stabilization, not free care — pair it with Emergency Medicaid and the hospital financial-assistance lane for the bill.
Direct cash prices
Anyone paying out of pocket — uninsured, high-deductible, or excluded from other lanes.
Hospitals must publish their discounted cash prices under the federal price-transparency rule; cash rates are often far below the sticker price and negotiable.
- Rede shows real published cash prices where hospitals have disclosed them — search without selecting an insurance plan.
Always ask for the cash price in writing before treatment, and check the financial-assistance lane first — assistance can beat even the cash price.