Bay Clinic, Inc. is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) network of eight locations serving East Hawai'i families since 1983. We provide quality, affordable, and community directed health care to thousands of Big Island residents regardless of insurance status. We offer comprehensive primary medical, behavioral health, and dental care to our community.
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Services Offered
> Behavioral Health - Hawai'i County experiences some of the highest rates of depression and anxiety in the state. These and other behavioral health conditions are largely treatable by skilled and licensed behavioral health specialists.
Bay Clinic has a team of caring and skilled behavioral health professionals to assist you with your behavioral health needs.
If you have insurance, or not, we provide behavioral health counseling and therapy for individuals, couples, and children at our Hilo, Kea'au, Pahoa, and Kaʻū Family Health Centers. Fees are based on a sliding scale fee schedule depending on our income level.
> Tobacco Cessation - Bay Clinic's Tobacco Cessation Program provides counseling, medication support, and cessation classes to East Hawai'i residents who want to quit the use of tobacco. Tobacco cessation classes, combined with drug therapy have been shown to be highly effective in helping people stop using tobacco.
Fees and Payment
If your income is at or below the federal poverty guidelines, you may qualify for a discount on the cost of your medical care. In order to determine whether you qualify, you must provide us with documentation of your income. This can include: - Most recent paycheck stub; - Most recent welfare benefit statement; - Most recent food stamp benefit statement; - Most recent unemployment or workers compensation benefit statement; - Most recent tax return; or - Any other document that will prove how much income you receive. - If you do not receive any income, you must sign a statement explaining how you are being supported.
If you do not provide proof of your income at the time of your visit, you will be charged for the full cost of your medical care. Your proof of income statement will be valid for 1 year. After that time, new proof of your income will be required.
Depending on your income, you may be eligible to receive up to a 75% discount on the cost of your medical care or be charged with a nominal fee. Income guidelines are set by the federal government, not Bay Clinic, Inc. If you are referred to another medical provider or facility for additional lab tests, x-rays or treatment, you will receive a separate bill from that facility, and will be responsible for the full cost of those services. Your Bay Clinic medical provider may refer you to additional services because he or she may feel that it is an important part of your medical care. Bay Clinic will not pay for or provide discounts for any referred services. Occasionally, Bay Clinic receives grants to help pay for referred services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, or chest x-rays. Please ask your nurse if you qualify for this support.
If you have any questions about sliding fee discounts, please speak to a Patient Services Representative at any one of our health center locations. If they are unable to answer your question(s), you will be referred to someone who can.
Services Offered To: Adults Couples Teens Children
Payment: Sliding Scale
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Were You Able to Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.