SOUTH BEND — As gas and grocery prices continue to climb more and more families in Michiana are cutting costs when it comes to health care.

The Sister Maura Brannick Clinic in South Bend is seeing more and more patients. For the first time the clinic now has a waiting list for people to receive free health care. They already serve about 15,000 patients a year and with costs continuing to rise the need is even greater.

"I think they need to have a healthy body, healthy teeth, and healthy minds,” one parent told WSBT News.

But healthy kids cost money and with a struggling economy many families are making big sacrifices.

"There's no question that parents put their kids first,” said orthodontist Dr. Brian Eberhart. “We have a lot of parents that say, ‘I would love to have braces, or I would like to, but my kids come first.’”

According to the National Coalition on Health Care, the number of uninsured children is rising.

In 2006 nearly 12 percent of all children in the U.S. were uninsured — that's an increase of 610,000 kids.

"We are expecting it to get worse before it’s better,” said Nancy Hellyer, CEO of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.

Hellyer says now more families don't have health care or can't make the co-pays are using the ER for what should be routine doctor visits.

And their free health clinics are also feeling the crunch.

“They are starting to see waiting lists of patients trying to get in, so the capacity at those clinics is being really stressed,” Hellyer said.

So for many parents the gas and grocery gouge is taking its toll.

“It's definitely hit us in the wallet but we would not avoid the doctor,” a parent told WSBT News.

WSBT News was told the recent rise in health care needs is so great that another clinic is expected to open on the west side of South Bend by the end of this year.