If you want to protect yourself and your family without going broke, you will need to be pro-active when it comes to health care. Despite the extremely high cost of most medical care, access to free or discounted care is there for those willing to make a small effort to find it. Here are 6 tips to get you started.

1) Rx Discount Program - Prescription costs can be reduced substantially without buying insurance. There are discount purchasing groups that allow you to join them and receive their negotiated pricing on most prescription medications. One such group is UNA. There is no obligation or fee to register and it takes less than a minute to receive a personalized printable discount card which you simply bring to your druggist. He will save your discount group # in your file and you will then receive a reduced group price on all covered prescriptions. Discounts can be as much as 75% on some prescriptions but average 30%. Go to superrxcard.com and print your free card in less than 10 seconds .There are no gimmicks attached to this one and over 57,000 pharmacies participate in this group. According to Wellness.com - April 2006: "Hands down, the finest prescription assistance program in the United States..."

2) Free Medical Q&A - Informational resources are abundant and free. If you have symptoms you want to confidentially discuss with a real doctor or if you want to research any disease or medication, here are a few good resources: webmd.com, afraidtoask.com and yournetdoctor.com .

3) Doctor and Hospital Ratings - before you select a doctor or hospital for surgery, you might want to know if you are making the right choice. There are research groups that independently research doctors and hospitals and rate them based on criteria which are designed to determine whether they have met the nationally recognized standards for excellence. One such group has made their data base of research on over 600,000 doctors and hospitals available to the public. Got to: healthgrades.com to see how your doctor and hospital rate.

4) Health Insurance - Given up on buying health insurance? Do a little more research. There might possibly be some good coverage available that is within your budget. Try insureme.com or healthinsuranceinfo.net before throwing in the towel.

5) Free Eyeglasses - If you are a student or have children and cannot afford eyeglasses for them, there is a program available that may qualify you for a free eye examination and free glasses. To see if you qualify, go to: sightforstudents.org and apply.

6) Free Medical and Dental Clinics - Nearly every zip code has a medical facility nearby that will give anyone, without insurance or money, medical care. Most of these receive $ aid from governmental agencies or charitable organizations. How do I locate one? Just call any doctor or medical facility and ask them or visit ask.hrsa.gov/pc/ . This web page will allow you to search for a clinic by zip code that will give you medical care, even if you do not have insurance or money. Another site that will help you locate free medical care is freemedicalcamp.com