Hacking health care as a recent graduate without insurance

March 30, 2026

F1 students in OPT, without insurance, sliding fee scale alternative

As a recent graduate I’ve lost the privilege of medical insurance, which was mandatory during my masters, and had to pay for it to be enrolled as a student at my university. After my graduation, I had a choice, so I didn’t buy one.

I strongly believe this is the same case with a huge number of Desis as well, just going around without insurance, and hoping not to set foot in a hospital ever.

From where we come from, the concept of medical insurance feels complicated, with terms we are not even familiar with, and in fact may feel like a total waste of money, so I dont blame anyone for not having an insurance.

Back in the country, if we are sick, we would just go to an RMP (Registered Medical Practitioners) and get it looked at and get medicines around 100 rupees, or if it’s a little more serious and needs to be looked at by a real doctor, we would just go to a hospital, take an appointment(O.P) with maybe around 200 rupees, get looked at by the doctor, and get a prescription. And if we don’t feel better yet after a couple weeks, we can go for a second visit with the same doctor, without paying for the appointment again, cause that freaking O.P we made earlier is good for a freaking month!!! (or at least used to be)

When compared to that model, insurance definitely feels like a nuisance with all the corporate jargon like deductible, copay, premium, out-of-pocket maximum, etc. etc. But what option do the Desi with no insurance has, may god forbid, when they are sick and needs to visit a doctor. Pay out of pocket?? owe them a fortune?? That’ll be the last thing they would be doing, only when nothing else works.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just go to a hospital and pay a small fee, get looked at by a doctor, get a prescription, and get well??

Guess what?? We can!!!

Fancy name alert: it’s called Sliding Fee Scale program. And many hospitals have it, you just have to search for it online. Search – “sliding fee scale hospitals in [city] [state]”.

What is Sliding fee Scale?

It is a flexible pricing structure that reduces costs for services such as healthcare, therapy, or legal aid, based on a patient’s income and household size. The takeaway is, fee will be based on your income, generally charged on appointment basis, and it will be fixed for at least a year depending on the hospital. And the hospitals are federally backed in most cases, so you don’t have to worry about anything.

In my own case, I’ve enrolled in HealthLinc Valparaiso sliding fee program, soon after my graduation, as I was still in job hunting those days and had no income, they’ve enrolled me in their lowest tier, at $20 for each appointment (Medical, Dental and Vision), and I get a discount at their pharmacy too, which is definitely cheaper than CVS and Walgreens. And on top of that, the lady who took my intake appointment was super cool and made my first appointment cost $0.

Since then, I’ve spent around $40-$60 at the hospital and got far better value than any insurance plan would have offered me, for services ranging from emergency visits to routine blood tests and eye checkups.

Some instances of how my friends and I used this,

  • skin allergy check up - my first appointment, free
  • eye checkups and glasses- my friends first appointment, free, and got a prescription for two pairs of glasses costing /$90
  • ear infection - another friend had a bad ear infection, get it checked and a antibiotics prescription for /$20. And later en ENT referral at a private practice, which also cost /$20 only
  • flu fever - i was down with severe fever for a couple days, went to the hospital, got tested positive for flu and antibiotics prescription for /$20
  • blood tests - i got my annual comprehensive metabolic panel, that tests liver, kidney and metabolic performance, at /$20

In my honest opinion, this model of healthcare is simple and feels a lot closer to what we have back home.

So well, what are you waiting for, go on and search for a Sliding fee Scale hospital near you and compare all the services being offered at each one and decide which one is best for you, and make that intake appointment right away because you never know when you might need it.

Here’s a link to a website where you can find such hospitals based on your zip code:
https://www.needymeds.org/free-clinics-branch

I am very well aware that insurance has it obvious benefits when we need complicated services from hospitals. This is just being proposed as a interim solution while you are still in that job hunt, and going around without insurance, to be a some kind of a safety net for your health and wallet.

Thanks for reading,

Your Desi Dosth