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Impact Story

South Carolina Free Clinic Association

Improving Health Outcomes for Uninsured and Underserved South Carolinians.

For the uninsured and underserved population in South Carolina, doctor visits can be cost-prohibitive. When faced with the challenge of affording a healthcare bill, many choose to delay or skip critical healthcare services, which in turn leads to poorer health outcomes and widening health disparities. 

About the Organization

Free clinics in South Carolina play a vital role in breaking down these barriers, offering primary medical care, wellness programs, dental care, behavioral health care, eye care and more — all at no cost to patients. The South Carolina Free Clinic Association (SCFCA) supports its member clinics through training, technical assistance, resource development, community outreach, and advocacy.

Program Goals

The Roadmap to Health Equity project is a nationwide initiative that uses rigorous data collection to strengthen free clinic services. By tracking quality measurements, free clinics are able to identify gaps and make evidenced-based improvements to improve patient care. With the grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, all of SCFCA's certified member clinics will be able to participate in this roadmap initiative, ensuring that uninsured and underserved South Carolinians across the state get the best possible care.

The Foundation also provided funding to South Carolina's free clinics from 2018-2023. This new roadmap initiative adds value and quality to this provider network. 

This initiative will set a new standard for what free clinics in South Carolina can achieve.

Results

As of March 2025, 24 of the 37 SCFCA clinics had submitted data for their patients. By 2026, the project expects to have data from all 37 clinics. Even now, using the data submitted for 15,035 patients, the SCFCA has been able to:

  • Identify clinical measures that lag behind national benchmarks.
  • Increase participation and data transparency.
  • Highlight disparities by race, gender, and language.
  • Improve mental health and cancer screening rates, especially among vulnerable populations.

With this information, free clinics in South Carolina have already been able to improve patient care. As more data is submitted, the level of care will continue to rise.