Taylor Dahlberg grabbed a pair of round dark-red glasses to try them on. This would be the first time she had ever gotten glasses and the first time in seven years that she received a vision check-in.
Dahlberg said she doesn’t have health insurance, but she was able to receive vision care at Remote Area Medical (RAM) for free and without proof of insurance or an ID.
“It means a lot since it's free, I don't have to worry about the cost or budgeting anything into my life already,” Dahlberg said. “So, it's really amazing to be able to come, and it's close to home, and get the services that I needed. ... (I’m) just really appreciative of the experience and the opportunity to do so.”
Michigan has about 4.5% uninsured population, which translates to 504,000 people, according to the most recent United States Census data from 2023.
What is RAM?
RAM is a nonprofit organization that travels across the country and provides healthcare for people, said Hailey Vittetoe, a clinic coordinator. In 2024, RAM visited 24 states, with about 200 people averaging in attendance of their events.
“Some people don't have ... access to (healthcare),” Vittetoe said. “There's no way for them to get to a place. Some people just don't have insurance or means to pay for that medical service. So, we're there to provide (healthcare) for anyone and everyone.”
This past weekend in Big Rapids they provided dental, vision and general medical services to people. Their services are on a first-come, first-served basis.
By about 9 a.m. on Saturday, there were over 100 people seeking medical assistance. Event organizers said 70 of those attendees were getting dental care.
One of those patients was William Mccahill Shwedo. He drove to Big Rapids from Warren at about 2 a.m. to get in line for dental fillings.
Shwedo said he's been putting dental care off for some time and called RAM’s services “a godsend.” The last time he saw a doctor was when he visited another RAM location in Ohio.
“It's life changing,” Shwedo said. “I don't have to worry about breaking [the] bank and potentially going into debt in order to make sure that very common sense and immediate needs are met.
“I remember the first time I actually went to one of these locations I had an extraction done because I had months of throbbing tooth pain.”
He said when the pain was gone, he saw “immediate life improvements” and was able to concentrate on work and home life.
Volunteers providing the care
Ferris State University’s sports complex, where the RAM clinic was facilitated, filled with about 400 volunteers. They were doctors, nurse practitioners, opticians, dentists, pharmacists, students and others.
Sarah Hinkley, a doctor of optometry, said she is volunteering for RAM to provide her community with health services, and it gives her a sense of fulfillment.
“There are so many patients that lack access to eye care, whether it be through transportation issues, insurance issues, health issues,” Hinkley said. “I think giving back to the community is a huge part of what we do, as optometrists and healthcare providers.”
Hinkley said this is her first time volunteering at RAM.
In fact, this is the first time RAM is visiting Michigan.
Stephanie Gustman with Ferris State’s School of Nursing and her colleague Becky Johnson-Himes worked for 21 months to bring RAM to Big Rapids. They found funding, invited volunteers and facilitated the event this weekend.
Gustman said they decided to partner with RAM because they saw a need for healthcare in Michigan, and Johnson-Himes volunteered for RAM before. For both of them, it was a passion project.
“Healthcare in general is so expensive and it's very hard to obtain,” Gustman said. “I am doing it so those people who need dental work, they need free glasses because they haven't been able to see in years, they need medical care – I want them to be able to have that.”
Patients saw great value in free medical services as well.
“You know, there's an wise age-old adage that you get what you pay for, but it's amazing to get so much for absolutely free,” dental patient Shwedo said. “This is an invaluable asset to our country, and it's really refreshing to see people taking this sort of thing so seriously.”
But soon, accessing healthcare in Michigan, and all over the country, might become even more difficult.
Proposed changes to medical assistance in Congress
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) said 300,000 people in Michigan could lose their primary insurance if the Senate passes “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” with proposed changes to Medicaid, according to a WDET article.
“They’re making them sign up every six months so that people forget, people get busy and they lapse, and they get off of Medicaid,” she said. “For Michigan, it would have a dramatic impact.”
Sections 44101 through 44201 of “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” provide guidance for several new conditions of eligibility for medical assistance. Some of them are:
- An individual must report at least 80 hours of “community engagement,” meaning work or volunteering, per month;
- An individual must provide the state with information about their citizenship or satisfactory immigration;
- The state must review whether the individual enrolled in medical assistance is deceased, and other.
A White House article read that with this bill, the Trump administration hopes to eliminate waste and fraud in government spending and will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made about $140 billion in improper payments in 2024, the article read.
But a report from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer showed that these changes would result in over 700,000 Michiganders losing Medicaid coverage and increased financial burden for hospitals.
