RALEIGH, N.C. — A faith-based group has opened a clinic in Raleigh that caters to those who need low-cost quality care.

Some patients like Joyce Thorne are turned away by doctors because they do not have health insurance and cannot afford to pay their bills. But Thorne said she is thankful the

Alliance Medical Ministry

came to the rescue.

"This is God-sent. I mean if it wasn't for them, I would have no doctor," she said.

Thorne and other patients pay between $10 to $25 per visit depending on their income. Members of various churches and synagogues and other donors pay the rest.

The Alliance Medical Ministry is next to WakeMed, a place where many of the clinic's patients used to go for their most basic medical needs.

"If you go to the emergency room, one visit is going to cost you a couple hundred dollars. I don't have it," Thorne said.

"I really wasn't getting the medical care I need to because I wasn't able to afford it because I paid for everything out of my pocket," patient Evelyn Rahman said.

Rahman said she had to pay $540 a month for her heart medicine. The clinic provides most of the necessary medication for free. Pharmaceutical companies keep them well-stocked with sample packets.

"This month alone, I've saved almost $300," Rahman said.

The Alliance Medical Ministry opened in January. It primarily treats adults making less than $25,000 a year.