Find Doctors and Medical Facilities

Find Doctors and Health Care Services

There are many things you can do to make sure you get the best and most affordable health care for your needs: 

Learn What Your Insurance Covers

• Find out what your insurance plan covers for annual visits, tests and x-rays. 
• Determine which doctors participate in your health insurance plan.
• Check to see if dental and vision are covered. 
• Ask if your insurance company has to pre-approve a surgery or hospital admission. 
• Find more tips on choosing health care providers or services. 

Review Health Provider and Service Directories

These resources can help you find health care services: 

• Use HealthFinder.gov to search for doctors, other providers, and various types of health care centers and services.
• If you are enrolled in Medicare, you can find Medicare-certified doctors and health care facilities, learn about the services they offer, and compare the care they provide.

Check Doctor and Facilities Accreditations

• Check to see if your doctors are licensed to practice medicine in the state you live. A state or local occupational and professional licensing board will be able to give you this information.
  
• Find out if the doctor is board-certified in the appropriate specialty. You can find this information from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Certification Matters lookup.
• Check to make sure the hospital is approved by your private insurance or Medicare.
• Look into how often or how well the health care professional has treated patients with your condition. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report the success rates and number of procedures performed by fertility clinics. Some states collect and post data on the success of heart-bypass surgeries. Contact your state’s health department.
  
• Check whether there have been any complaints or disciplinary actions taken against your health care provider by contacting your state medical board.
• Get information about the quality of care at over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals across the country.

Build a Relationship with Your Health Care Provider

• Make sure you communicate well with your health care provider.
• He or she should listen to your concerns and clearly explain diagnoses and benefits of new treatments and prescriptions.
• Write out your questions if necessary.

Get Help with Lowering Health Care Costs

Learn how you might be able to save money or receive low cost health care services:

• Search for a local health care center, which provides care, even if you have no health insurance. You pay what you can afford, based on your income.
• Check Healthcare.gov to see if you qualify for lower health insurance costs.
• Apply for limited free or low cost dental care.