Tabitha Smith had been sick for about a week last November with what she thought was just a cold. When she didn't get better, her mom pushed her to see a doctor. "I told her I can't afford the doctor," says Smith, a 31-year-old social media manager who has been uninsured for five years. Ultimately Smith decided that Mother knows best. She headed to an urgent care clinic near her home in La Puente. Last time she saw a doctor in private practice it cost her $200. At the urgent care center, she spent just $70, a fee that included the cost of the medication for what turned out to be a case of walking pneumonia.
