This story was originally published in Tucson Spotlight, a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Sign up for Tucson Spotlight emails here.
A University of Arizona medical program that started in 1979 with a single clinic serving Central American refugees has grown into 12 student-run free clinics serving Tucson’s most vulnerable residents.
“We offer everything from pediatric well child visits to biopsies with board certified dermatologists. We provide the consultation for patients, the labs, and small procedures all for no cost to the patient,” said Soham Dave, director of the College of Medicine’s Commitment to Underserved People, or CUP, program. “Our primary patients are unhoused or uninsured, or patients that are just between insurances due to any number of life circumstances.”
The need is significant. Arizona has the 43rd highest uninsured rate in the country, with 10.3% of residents lacking health insurance, including 8.6% of children, according to America’s Health Rankings. The 2025 Point-In-Time Count recorded 2,218 unsheltered individuals in Pima County…