via KAREN HOPPER USHER | CADILLAC NEWS
If you’re having trouble affording your medications, the Stehouwer Free Clinic might be able to help you. Though the income limit for seeing a Free Clinic doctor is 200% of the federal poverty line, people who make more money might be eligible to use the clinic’s medication assistance program.
That’s because Karen Zenner (she’s the medication assistance program coordinator at the Stehouwer Free Clinic) works directly with the pharmaceutical companies to get medications for people who would otherwise struggle to pay for them.
One company will help people who make up to 500% of the federal poverty line, Zenner said. Others set their limit at 400% of the federal poverty line.
Even people with private coverage might be eligible for help, depending on which pharmaceutical company sells the drug you need.
For example, if the insurance you get through your employer doesn’t cover the specific formulary you need, the pharmaceutical company that makes it may have a program to help — and Zenner can help you navigate that process.
The medication assistance program can be critical for people who need medications regularly.
“We have patients who are on insulin who simply could not afford it at all. Period,” said Dr. William George, who volunteers at the clinic. “And for them, it is a matter of life and death. Not just health. But death. There’s no other way to get it.”
Dr. George said the clinic had recently helped somebody get insulin after their spouse lost their job.
That’s an important gap the Stehouwer Free Clinic helps to fill — helping people out when they’re between jobs.
The clinic offers medical appointments one to two days a week for people without insurance who make less than 200% of the federal poverty line ($25,520 for a one-person household; $34,480 for a two-person household; see https://stehouwerfreeclinic. org for more details).
If you meet the income requirement and do have insurance but have a high deductible, the clinic might also be able to help you.
The clinic will want to see some sort of paperwork to verify your income — but Cindy Watkins, the clinic’s coordinator, said she’s looking for evidence of your current circumstances. If you had a job last year but lost your job, you might be eligible.
Watkins urges people who need help to call the clinic.
Getting seen early can prevent a bigger emergency room bill down the line.
Plus, if you qualify for help from the free clinic, you’re also likely to qualify for financial assistance from Cadillac Munson Hospital (the clinic operates under the Munson umbrella) and Watkins can help you get set up there for testing and procedures.
Zenner, Watkins and Dr. George all said they find work at the clinic rewarding.
“I want to make sure that we grant homage to Ed Stehouwer, the man who is responsible for this clinic,” Dr. George said. “It was his feeling that we’re all children of God. And we’re responsible for taking care of our brothers and sisters.”
Dr. Stehouwer died a decade ago; his wife, Muriel Stehouwer, died last week.
“The two were just so, so compassionate and so involved in our community,” said Dr. George, who called his friend “the heart, the soul, the conscience” of Cadillac’s medical community.
Watkins said she wants to spread the word about the clinic because she thinks people either didn’t know or have forgotten that it exists (the clinic used to be downtown but moved to 803 Lynn Street, next to the hospital, about a year and a half ago).
With COVID-19 causing job loss, people need to know the clinic is around.
And unlike some other free clinics in Michigan, the clinic serves more than just the city in which it is located.
The Stehouwer Free Clinic’s range closely overlaps the Cadillac News coverage area; the clinic can help people who live in Boon, Cadillac, Evart, Falmouth, Harrietta, Lake City, LeRoy, Luther, Manton, Marion, McBain, Merritt, Mesick and Tustin.
To reach the clinic, call 231-876-6150. For the medication assistance program, call 231-876-6151.
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