Walgreens giving free care to jobless and uninsured

[LynneSin]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090331/ap_on_bi_ge/walgreen_clinics;_ylt=Amt6Z7eeZwQoUn09upYAXGMDW7oF

Walgreens giving free care to jobless and uninsured

NEW YORK – Drugstore operator Walgreens will offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year, providing tests and routine treatment for minor ailments through its walk-in clinics — though patients will still pay for precriptions.

Walgreens said patients who lose their job and health insurance after March 31 will be able to get free treatment at its in-store Take Care clinics for respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments. Typically those treatments cost $59 or more for patients with no insurance.

Hal Rosenbluth, chairman of the Take Care Health Systems division, described the plan as something close to an experiment: He said Walgreens isn't sure of patient demand or how much providing the services might cost the company.

It's likely to generate more attention for the clinics, however. Rosenbluth said a typical Take Care patient tells eight other people about his or her experience. So far, about 30 percent of Take Care patients were new customers to Walgreens.

The program is expected to last through the end of 2009. Walgreens runs 341 Take Care clinics in 35 markets around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Cleveland.

Free services will be offered only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walgreens said it will not offer free checkups, vaccinations or other injections because it is focusing on providing services patients might otherwise get at an urgent-care center or even an emergency room.


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This is some serious stuff. It's not for every condition but at least if someone needs some sort of basic care there is help out there. And Walgreen also has a generic drug program (3 months for $10). What really suprised me was that my area of Wilmington is included although not all our Happy Harry's stores (In Delaware Walgreens are called Happy Harry's).

http://www.takecarehealth.com/

In case you need one.

[Dervill Crow]

1. Right on!

I'll be doing a lot more of my shopping at Walgreen's now.

:thumbsup:

[renate]

2. that's SO nice!

This is going to keep a lot of small medical problems from developing into bigger ones (and a lot of small medical bills from developing into bigger ones, too).
:woohoo: for Walgreens!

[otohara]

3. Taking Cues From Denny's

recently saw where Denny's business is way up after doing their "FREE grand slam" - Walgreens not doing so well lately.