Community Health Center
Forest Community Health Center
2316 S Cedar St, Lansing, MI 48910-3152 1.1 miles away
Community Health Center
Care Free Medical
1115 S Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 101, Lansing, MI 48912-1658
Care Free Medical is a community health center dental clinic in Lansing, MI, operated by Care Free Medical.
The health center is open about 40 hours a week, though dental sessions are usually a subset of that.
Clinic Details
| Address | 1115 S Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 101, Lansing, MI 48912 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 517-887-5922 |
| Operated by | Care Free Medical |
| Program | Health Center Program look-alike |
A look-alike meets every requirement of the federal Health Center Program — including the income-based sliding fee discount and seeing patients regardless of ability to pay — but does not receive the federal grant that funds the others. For you as a patient the discount works the same way; what differs is the funding behind it.
Planning Your Visit
1115 S Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 101, Lansing, MI 48912
The published number is 517-887-5922. It may be a shared scheduling line. Say which site you mean and that you want dental rather than medical, or you can be booked into the wrong queue.
Things to settle on the phone first: the dental hours, and which days appointments run, whether new dental patients are being taken, and the current wait, what a first visit costs, before and after any discount, whether your insurance or Medicaid dental plan is accepted, by plan name, and what to bring for the sliding fee application.
Dental Services
This clinic has not published a list of the treatments it provides. Expect the routine treatments to be available. The question worth asking is about the expensive ones: root canals, dentures and oral surgery are handled in house at some health centers and referred out at others.
Costs and Coverage
Charges are set against household income and household size rather than a fixed fee schedule. Care Free Medical sets its own income bands, so a quote from another clinic tells you nothing about this one. Ask them to run your household through it before you commit to a treatment plan. Our guide to applying for the discount lists the documents to bring.
No Medicaid registration has been recorded for this clinic, which is not the same as Medicaid being refused. What Michigan Medicaid covers for adults is a state decision and has been cut and restored in several states; for children the benefit is required nationally. The Medicaid dental page covers how to check yours.
Common Questions
Can I get dentures here?
Many health centers do dentures, and the discount can make them dramatically cheaper than private practice. The catch is laboratory costs, which are often billed on top of the discounted fee and are the bulk of the price. Ask for the total including laboratory work.
What if I have no fixed address?
Say so when you call rather than leaving the field blank. Health centers see people without stable housing routinely, some hold a specific program for it, and a shelter or day center address is normally accepted for the paperwork. Not having an address is not a disqualification.
What if I need a specialist they do not have?
You would normally be referred out, and a referral from a health center does not carry the discount with it — the outside specialist charges their own fee. Ask what the referral would cost before starting anything that depends on it, because that is the point where an affordable plan often stops being affordable.
Is dental priced the same as medical here?
Not always. Dental is sometimes on its own fee schedule at the same clinic, and laboratory costs for a crown or denture are often billed on top of the discounted fee. Ask specifically about dental rather than assuming the medical answer applies.
Do they do root canals, or would I be referred out?
This is the question worth asking before anything else if you already know you need one. Health centers commonly do extractions in-house and refer root canals to a private endodontist at full price, which changes the arithmetic completely. Ask before you start treatment, not after.
Do I need to be a US citizen?
No. The Health Center Program does not set citizenship or immigration status as a condition of being seen, and clinics in it are not required to ask. What they do need is something to work out your fee, which is income and household size rather than status. If this is the thing keeping you from calling, ask what they require before you decide not to go.
Other Clinics Operated by Care Free Medical
Care Free Medical has no other locations, so there is nowhere else within the same organization to ask. Work down the nearby clinics below if this one is full.
Other Dental Clinics Nearby
Measured straight-line rather than by road. Availability varies enough between them that a second call is usually worth making.
- Forest Community Health Center — Lansing, about 1.1 miles away
- Cedar Community Health Center — Lansing, about 2.9 miles away
- Great Lakes Bay Health Centers Shiawassee (Closing) — Owosso, about 28.4 miles away
- CFH - Northeast Health Center — Jackson, about 32.4 miles away
Confirmed Payment Options
Income-Based Fees
Call Care Free Medical
Confirm current dental services, appointment availability, costs and accepted insurance directly with the clinic.
Nearby Affordable Dental Clinics
Community Health Center
Cedar Community Health Center
5303 S Cedar St, Lansing, MI 48911-3800 2.9 miles away
Community Health Center
Great Lakes Bay Health Centers Shiawassee (Closing)
200 N Caledonia Dr, Owosso, MI 48867-8844 28.4 miles away
Community Health Center
CFH - Northeast Health Center
1024 Fleming Ave, Jackson, MI 49202-2597 32.4 miles away
Before you call
