Correction: The story should have said people older than 65 can receive Medicare.

Molly Lobeck always knew she wanted to go into medicine, but it wasn't until she volunteered at the Care Free Medical clinic in Lansing that she knew she had found her niche.

The dinner table talks from her childhood between her father and mother, who both worked in the pharmaceutical industry, sparked her interest in medicine.

"I always wanted to do what my dad did, but in a different area," she said.

Although she initially planned to be a pharmacist, it was her experience volunteering at the clinic that made her decide to attend medical school.

"I realized I really did like the patient aspect of it, and maybe being a doctor wouldn't be such a bad thing for me," she said.

Lobeck finished her first year of medical school at MSU in the spring after graduating with a degree in microbiology and molecular genetics from MSU in 2006. During her second year as an undergraduate student, she began working at the Care Free Medical clinic as a pharmacy volunteer and has been there ever since.

Care Free Medical is a nonprofit, family health clinic that provides health care to eligible local residents at little to no charge.

"All of our patients are underinsured, meaning they either have no insurance or their insurance, for whatever reason, doesn't cover adequately," she said.

The service applies to everything, including prescriptions, especially when patients at the clinic are unable to pay for the medication they need. Lobeck and others in her office assist patients with paperwork so they can get the medication for free.

"Almost every pharmaceutical company has an assistance program of sorts, where if you can prove a patient doesn't make a lot of money, typically 2 1/2 times the poverty line, and doesn't have insurance, then they qualify for these programs and they can get their medication for free," she said.

Ashley Throckmorton, a 2007 MSU graduate, volunteers once a week at the clinic while she juggles studying for the MCAT and her other job. She works one-on-one with the patients to fill out the forms to apply for free medication from drug companies.

"I knew drug companies would give out drugs, but I didn't know how to go about doing that or that they offered so much that almost all drug companies are willing to provide," she said. "They give out lots and lots, more so than I think the public knows and understands."

Care Free Medical has given out more than one million medications to its patients, the majority of them at no cost to the patient as part of the clinic's mission to provide health care to local residents in need.

As of 2005, 1,032,727 Michigan residents, more than 10 percent of the state population, had no health insurance, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Lansing and East Lansing have the fourth highest rate of uninsured residents in the state, at 15.6 percent, behind Flint, Jackson and Saginaw, according to a 2007 Michigan Department of Community Health report.

The understanding of this need is the reason Dr. Barry Saltman founded Care Free Medical.

After 27 years of medical practice, Saltman and his wife, Suzanne, who was a nurse practitioner, initially thought of opening a small clinic in Mason to treat about 100 uninsured people a few nights a week.

That idea expanded into Care Free Medical Inc., with offices at 90 E. Columbia St. in Mason, and 5135 S. Pennsylvania Ave., in Lansing.

With funding provided by the Ingham County Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delta Dental and the Dart Foundation, Care Free Medical now provides primary care, mental health, substance abuse and nutritional counseling services, and vision and dental care to about 4,000 patients - for free.

The clinics also have a volunteer nutritionist, surgeon, dermatologist and three pediatric nurse practitioners.

"Health care, right now, has been seriously, seriously missing the point," Saltman said. "Every single human being deserves access to health care, and secondly, not providing it doesn't save money, it costs money."

Saltman said a person who is unable to receive health care because they didn't have insurance can go on Medicare when they turn 65, but it would cost more money to get a patient caught up with treatments they need.

Care Free Medical works like a standard family practice, with regular appointments and checkups, as well as emergency care. The clinics have a very close working relationship with the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Social Work and Department of Psychology, whose faculty and students volunteer at the clinic and treat patients.

Kenneth Onuoha, a second-year student in MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine, works at the clinic.

He and the other medical students who work at the clinic are supervised by MSU faculty members and retired doctors who volunteer at the clinic in their spare time.

Onuoha's work at the clinic keeps him guided as he makes his way through the grind of medical school.

"When you step back, and are in a place like this, you realize 'This is why I want to be in medicine,'" he said. "When you have doctors who are willing to give whatever it takes to restore a person's health it helps the society - it helps everyone."

Ryan Beene can be reached at beenerya@msu.edu.