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WiseGuy_TX
04-29-2008, 09:43 PM
..."Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
~ Henry David Thoreau

http://ask.hrsa.gov/pc/

http://www.needymeds.com/copay_branch.taf

http://www.edhayes.com/indigent.html

seraya
04-29-2008, 11:51 PM
I'm sorry sweetie.

Will the doctor not allow you to pay in installments, like a payment plan? most hospitals work this way.

AudreyLeigh
04-30-2008, 01:59 AM
Write a bad check. And then after the surgery you put a stop payment on said check. You call the hospital and say because of surgery your account got messed up and you need to set up a payment plan.

Dunno - seems easier and faster than the Welfare fraud...

And - if you really have no money - you can get MediCal without having children.... so Im not understanding why you cannot get ANY help. I really feel like theres something you're not telling us. A missing piece of the puzzle.

pixiepower329
04-30-2008, 05:47 AM
AudreyLeigh....

I don't live in Cali, so MediCal does me no good. According to my sister, who has children on Medicaid, Medicaid in Texas will only cover an adult if she is pregnant, or up to 6 months post partum. She is not covered by Medicaid, despite the fact that she has NO income.

While the "writing a check" idea may work to get the surgery.... it would also work to get me a criminal record, as I believe a check over 999 is considered a felony. With what I do for a living now, I can't have a felony (I work with kids).

Thanks for the links WiseGuy, I will see if I can get anything to pan out with those.

ajbaer
04-30-2008, 05:58 AM
This seems crazy. Move to Ohio. There are private hospitals there that get funding to help people like you. I had a similar case (not surgery) and I had to be hospitalized. Because they wanted people to have treatment, if you could prove you needed the assistance, and were making an attempt to make the money (ie have a job, or have one in place as soon as you're cleared to work?) they will cover almost the entire cost. I was hospitalized for 16 days once there, and I didn't pay anything. A special grant was placed in order, I filled out maybe one piece of paper.

boxingdoc
04-30-2008, 06:03 AM
Have you tried the screening form to see if you qualify for anything?

https://www.yourtexasbenefits.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4g38wTJgFmW-pGoIsam6CKOcAFfj_zcVH1v_QD9gtzQ0IhyR0UAtMhcTw!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvUUd3QndNQSEvNElVRS82XzBfNkU!

vivianbear
04-30-2008, 06:34 AM
I beg of you, consider having surgery overseas! There are so many wonderful and much more affordable physicians (sp?) in other countries. I know that Thailand, India and Peru have already been mentioned. Can you take this under consideration at all? Are you able to travel for a period of time? I wish you good luck.

Also, have you looked into various hospitals' Residency Programs for surgeons who would do a more low-cost procedure?

VegasPrincess
04-30-2008, 07:02 AM
Why don't you figure out which hospital in the area is the hospital for indigents? (IE poor people) There is somebody there you can always talk to.

You might qualify for low income health care.

If you wrote a bad check to cover something like that, I HIGHLY doubt it would result in a felony....

And also, what if worst came to worse and you tried to apply for Social Security or Disability or Welfare or anything just to get the surgery done??

Bob_Loblaw
04-30-2008, 07:31 AM
I recall seeing a story on Prosper.com (http://www.prosper.com/) on CNN a little while ago. Maybe worth looking into?

Prosper: The eBay of Loans? (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060213_147523.htm?chan=technology_technology+i ndex+page_internet)

Peanut_Butter
04-30-2008, 08:05 AM
I've had 2 surgeries, one to remove a lymph node and one to remove cervical cancer. Both surgeries payment wasn't even discussed prior to the surgeries. I was billed after the fact. I have never paid the bills. I have over 20,000 in medical bills in collections on my credit history...but I got the surgery done that I needed.

At the hospital during check in for the surgery the billing department came to my room and asked me how I was going to pay and asked if I needed forms for the charity programs or the payment plans. I was just to young and stupid and never filled them out.

I would suggest going straight to the hospital this is to be done at and speaking to the billing department. Because going throguh the docotr won't cover all the expences anyway. That would just cover his fee. But what about the OR room fee, the anesthesioligist, plus the fees of the operation ( the IV, the sponges, all that crap is all billed from the hospital, not from the surgeon) Not to mention the recovery room stuff and eveything.