So what should you do?
Many people ask their doctors for help.
"We've had lots of people, unfortunately, who have undergone the cuts," said Dr. James Barr, a family physician in Dublin. "We never deny anybody care.
"We work with them to pay as you can and when you can."
Barr's practice lets uninsured patients pay the minimum charge for services and arranges payment plans of as low as $5 a month.
He said five to 10 patients a month tell one of the four doctors in the practice that they've lost their jobs and health insurance.
"It's very humiliating for them," Barr said. But "it's a comfort to them to let us help them."
There is COBRA, a federal program that allows workers to continue the former employer's coverage by paying the entire premium. But many people can't afford that.
Kelly Richards said she couldn't afford the $700-a-month premiums when a lending company laid her off in 2007. She said a plan with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was too expensive as well.
The Upper Arlington resident now works for a builder doing odd jobs and is nervous being uninsured. "I could fall off a ladder or cut a finger," said Richards, 42.
Barr, her primary-care physician, and her gynecologist let her make payments for office visits, and both give her drug samples when they have them.
Dr. Stephen Canowitz, a primary-care physician on the city's East Side, said he tries to help patients save money by seeing them less often and switching their medications from brand names to generics.
Free medication samples, which had always been a way to help people in tough economic times, aren't as plentiful. Pharmaceutical companies also have laid off workers, meaning doctors' offices are getting fewer samples.
Many retail stores offer $4 generic prescription drugs. And several discount drug-card programs are available on the Internet.
At Powell Pediatric Care, doctors charge a lower rate for uninsured patients on a case-by-case basis. They also tell parents about free clinics and direct them to government and private assistance programs.
Shelia Jones, the office manager, said she has helped 10 families sign their children up for the Healthy Start program through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
"I tell parents, 'Don't be embarrassed when this happens; we'll look for other services available for your child,'" Jones said. "They just don't know about any of these services because they've never been in this place before."
The wrong thing to do, experts say, is to go without health insurance.
One illness or injury can cost thousands of dollars and put your home and other assets at risk if you can't pay a hospital bill. And if you go without insurance for more than 63 days, any pre-existing conditions might not be covered when you become insured again.
"If you've had group coverage, you should look at the individual market and see what's available," said Alwyn Cassil, spokeswoman for the Center for Studying Health System Change.
High-deductible plans require upfront costs, she said, but premiums are more affordable and provide a safety net.
What if you lose your health insurance?
As millions lose their jobs, they're also losing health insurance. Here are suggestions to help:
-- Tell your doctors. They might offer a lower rate, let you make payments, get sample medications or switch to generic drugs.
-- Get necessary medical tests before your health insurance runs out.
-- Talk to an insurance broker about pricing an individual health policy even if it's a high-deductible plan. Premiums can be more affordable, and you'll have catastrophic coverage.
-- Check out the many discount drug-card programs on the Internet.
-- Pharmaceutical companies have free drug programs. To learn more, go to www.pparx.org/Intro.php. Prescription Hope, a local group, can help people apply for these drug programs at a cost of $7 a month per prescription. Go to www.prescriptionhope.com or call 1-877-296-4673.
The state's Healthy Start program can insure children who qualify. Call 1-614-466-2100 or go to http://jfs.ohio.gov/OHP/bcps/hshf/index.stm.
Parents of special-needs children can get help from the Patient Access Network Foundation at www.patientaccessnetwork.org/ or by calling 1-866-316-7263
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