If you find yourself suddenly without health insurance and you live in a country that doesn't offer public or universal health care, you're probably as scared as all get-out--particularly if you can't afford medical care on your own, have chronic health problems, are on medications, or simply are concerned about not having preventative care. You can survive it, but you may need a little help. Here are strategies that can help until health insurance does become available to you and your family.

• Seek government aid for medical care. There may be federally-subsidized or state-subsidized government programs available to you for low cost, or even for free, if you fall into certain categories--such as being low income, being pregnant, having children, being disabled, being a veteran, etc.  For example, Medicaid, Medicare, and other U.S. programs may be able to help you, and some states have government medical insurance for children.
  
• Take advantage of basic or preventative health care offered by state or federal governments for certain conditions--such as for birth control or certain terminal conditions.
  
• If you live in a state, such as Washington, that has a waiting list for its basic health care options, get on the waiting list immediately so you'll be first in line for consideration.
• If you have a pre-existing condition that would make private insurance companies refuse to cover you for medical benefits, check with your state government. There may be insurance available to you (albeit not at low cost) if other insurance companies reject you.

When you get sick, experience pain, get injured, or get into a situation where you'd otherwise find yourself making a doctor's appointment, you may find yourself struggling to figure out whether to see a doctor each time.  If you can't afford limitless doctors' visits, then use these tips to help you make decisions about when to see a doctor:

• Always get immediate health care in life-threatening situations by going to the ER (Emergency Room) or calling 911, depending on the situation.  Even if you can't afford to pay for health care now, as the current law stands in the U.S., the emergency department at the hospital is obligated to treat you or the family member for a life-threatening condition.  You can deal with the debt, paperwork, or monetary obligations later.
• Don't take risks with your children or with the health of anybody dependent on you.  When they are sick, injured, or have other health problems, make a doctor's appointment.  There's a good chance there is help available to finance the visit--check with the government social services department or with the social worker at the hospital or clinic.
  
• Use authoritative internet resources for medical information.  Don't self-diagnose.  But do use the online information available to you from authoritative sources to help you make decisions about when to see a doctor and pay out of your own pocket.  Some authoritative sources include those in the section entitled, "Authoritative Health Sources."
  
• When you have a problem that may be able to wait on medical care but may result in long-term, more serious problems, think seriously about seeing a doctor.  You may think you're saving money now, but in the long run you could be putting yourself deeper in hock, especially if complications develop. 
• When the matter is not urgent or life-threatening, there's the tempation to assume going to the doctor may not be valuable and may end up costing too much.  Avoid assuming that the worst-case economic scenario (that you'll need expensive tests, for example) will happen.  There's a chance that a single visit to the doctor may be enough to help your condition improve.  There's a chance the doctor can give you a discount if you pay cash or don't have health insurance.  And sometimes the peace of mind can have a beneficial effect on your healing.
• When it comes to a choice between seeing the doctor or avoiding going in debt, it's usually best to see the doctor.  The cliches offered by the Depression-era generation are true: Debt is not the worst thing, but losing your health is.
  

The best thing you can do to minimize your health care costs when you lack health insurance is to keep yourself and your family healthy. While nobody has the ultimate power to prevent illness--illness happens eventually, no matter what you do--you can prevent some health problems from developing by using wisdom.

• Get good sleep. Make sure you and your family get sufficient sleep each night--and consider taking short naps during the afternoon. Make sure part of that sleep is quality REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Quality sleep is essential to maintaining your health and your mental acuity, and to keeping your energey levels up.
  
• Eat a healthy diet of moderation. What constitutes a healthy diet can vary from person to person: one person's miracle food is another person's allergy nightmare. Coffee may increase the risk of high blood pressure in one person, while in another, coffee may treat a migraine. The point is that you, and everyone in your family, should eat with an eye to maintaining each individual's physical and emotional health. Now is not the time to conform in one's eating habits: rather, consider eating different meals appropriate to each person's health needs.
  
• Avoid, if possible smoking, drinking excessively, and doing illegal drugs. These habits involve health risks, meaning there's a good chance you'll need health care down the line.
• Take extra precautions in the way you move, drive, and behave if you cannot afford to go to the doctor if you get injured. Living life more cautiously can be a pain and difficult to do if you're used to living full-throttle. Yet can you really afford to be injured this year? Now is the time to gain wisdom--and slow down.
• Seek alternative home health care wisdom from family, acquaintances, books, and online. Don't self diagnose; don't go out and spend enormous quantities of money on risky cures; and don't believe everything you read. But there is some good advice out there that can help you stay healthy, both mentally and physically.
  
• Relax. Relaxation techniques including meditation, exercise and self-hypnosis may be beneficial, especially for those who are moderately healthy. Stress is a particularly acute risk when you previously enjoyed the security of having major health insurance but now find yourself bereft of the assurance of good health care.
  
• Stress is generally recognized as a health risk in and of itself, so do your best to minimize it by making the stressors in your life easier to bear. Work on resolving simmering conflict with those you live with. Make your physical space more pleasant to be around. Reduce your chance that stress will cause you to make unhealthy decisions.
  

Please don't take this article as medical advice--the author is not a doctor, but someone who's had to personally learn how to survive with no health insurance.