A card for uninsured patients. What a good idea! Kudos to the Albert Lea Medical Center for implementing this program.

When the uninsured seek medical help, they almost always are asked to fill out a form that requires insurance information. It can be awkward to explain to the person at a counter &8212; sometimes to people they might know and sometimes in front of onlookers in a waiting room &8212; that you don&8217;t have health insurance.

Imagine how much easier it will be to simply fill out the form with information from a card that does the explaining for them. It looks like an insurance card, and it is presented like an insurance card. The uninsured patient benefits.

So does the Albert Lea Medical Center. It can help the uninsured patients apply for state health financial aid programs and it can help uninsured patients with preventative care to avoid major illnesses.

Everyone wins.