Insurance options?

[Cyberkitty70]

I have been without insurance for a year now and don't qualify for medicaid, nor can I afford healthy new york, or private insurance.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can receive the medical care that I need?

[wkikta]

If you have what you think is an Emergency just go to the ER Room, they have to treat you and if you can't afford it most likely it will be no charge. Many Doctors will charge a very low, reduced rate for people without Insurance.

[0485c10]

Very tough situation. i had lost my job during a company downsize with a mass lay off, just before i was diagnosed with MS.

much elbow grease on your part will be needed.

there is the new affordable care act that helps the uninsured find insurance option in their state. i'm uncertain if you will find something affodable through the site but i know you won't if you don't investigate what options are there.

http://finder.healthcare.gov/

for me my ms diagnosis was very sudden in an ER with suspected stroke or MS then being admitted to the hospital overnight..not just any room in the hospital a room in the icu.

i was able to set up monthly payment plans with the hospital and the doc's. they gave me monthly payment but did not enforce the payment amount as long as i paid something each month. which i did eventually pay all of it off.

the hospital only charged me for a standard room saying a room in icu had not been needed, the mri had a charity program i applied for and was awardesd so there was no charge for the MRI.

i got on a manufacturers patient support program for the meds. and eventually got disability with medicare....but all this did not come at once it took a lot of elbow grease on my part to work through all this.

check with that website if there is anything there you can find that will help.


are there free clinics in new york?

do you think you have MS or do you already have ms?
are you looking for ways to afford MS meds?

[cosake]

Don't forget to talk to your doctors about your situation. They will likely be aware of programs that you may qualify for, or may be willing to give you services at a reduced charge and with a payment plan.

And, you can also contact the MS Society for leads in the right direction.

We have "211" in our area. You dial 211 and it can help you get linked up to assistance programs and services in your area. Maybe you have a "211" in your area as well ?

The drug manufacturers all have programs to assist patients with prescriptions. I think there is a "sticky" at the top of the medication board with links to organizations and manufacturers.

Good luck !

[Cyberkitty70]

@ cosake

thanks for your suggestions, I don't think we have 211, but I will find out.

[Cyberkitty70]

@ 0485c10

I was diagnosed 7 years ago, and had insurance up until a year ago.
I have been off my meds for sometime, but need meds for symptoms. I have contacted all the manufacturers but the most they offer is not a very significant discount. Vesicare alone is 200 dollars, WITH the discount.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free clinic, you need medicaid which Idon't qualify for.

I have researched affordable healthcare, the cheapest I found was almost 500 a month, and they wouldn't cover any pre-existing condition for a year. It is soooo frustrating.

I'm sorry for how your diagnosis occurred, but I am so glad that your hospital was willing to work with you.

thanks for all your suggestions. )

[Cyberkitty70]

wkikta

thanks for your suggestions, There has not been an emergency just yet thank goodness, I just need access to doctors for symptoms and prescriptions.

[cosake]

Another thing that you can do is to ask your doctors, when you get to see them, for samples of meds !

All of my doctors, when asked, have been happy to supply samples of meds that they have on hand, particularly when they know there is a financial hardship.

This can help ease the cost of prescriptions by stretching things out further.

[0485c10]

I'm sorry for how your diagnosis occurred, but I am so glad that your hospital was willing to work with you.

thank you, i was grateful too i was so afraid. i remember checking medicaid too. that sticky that sparky kept was very helpful but i don't see it now?

i booked marked a lot of stuff, kind of a ptsd reaction to the trauma of needing health care and not being able to afford it. i remember it as a very dark time in my life, that made MS seem less stressful because the need for health care without insurance was so much the greater trauma in comparison.

http://www.needymeds.org/
http://www.rxoutreach.com/

[heliotrope]

If you haven't already, call MSAA and MSF in addition to the National MS Society. There are sometimes grant programs for MS patients that aren't widely advertised.
Something else to consider - do you have a disability services office in your area? Does your town have a health department? Both can sometimes offer help.

[mtnwillow]

$500 per month sounds expensive but is a reasonable premium for major medical insurance. Others have very good ideas about samples, free clinics and reduced pay programs. Keep in mind that even if you're hospitalized with pneumonia or some other illness, the hospital bill alone will be in the thousands of dollars. There is a possibility that if you don't qualify for medicaid now you may qualify at a later date. Good luck in your search.

[Cyberkitty70]

thank you!!

thank you all for your very helpful suggestions!! I am going to explore all the options that you all offered, and I most grateful that you took the time to share it all with me..

[Spydre]

If you have what you think is an Emergency just go to the ER Room, they have to treat you and if you can't afford it most likely it will be no charge. Many Doctors will charge a very low, reduced rate for people without Insurance.

Some hospitals are notoriously bad about their availability of charity care - they don't tell you, you have to ask for it if its just an ER bill. You have to ask for it, go through the questions for the application, and if your income is too high, they might reduce the bill, but they won't excuse you from paying it like they would if you had an income of 0.

[cosake]

Here is the link to the sticky about assistance:

http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=100575

[Spydre]

I was diagnosed 7 years ago, and had insurance up until a year ago.
I have been off my meds for sometime, but need meds for symptoms. I have contacted all the manufacturers but the most they offer is not a very significant discount. Vesicare alone is 200 dollars, WITH the discount.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free clinic, you need medicaid which Idon't qualify for.

I have researched affordable healthcare, the cheapest I found was almost 500 a month, and they wouldn't cover any pre-existing condition for a year. It is soooo frustrating.

I'm sorry for how your diagnosis occurred, but I am so glad that your hospital was willing to work with you.

thanks for all your suggestions. )

Actually, any Federally Qualified Health Care facility is a "free clinic" but they go on a sliding fee scale dependent on your income. You don't have to have Medicaid to get into there.