Where to get diagnosis and pacemaker without insurance
- by JustLiving
- 2016-08-28 15:15:53
- General Posting
- 2412 views
- 8 comments
Hello fellow supporters,
About four years ago, I had all the tests. There's nothing wrong with structure of my heart and stress test was good. At that time I didn't meet the criteria by narrow margin for a pacemaker but now my heart rate is frequently lower at around 40 bps with other arythmia occurances; extra, skipped, and rapid beats. I have no health insurance. I want to find where I can get evaluated on the cheap and possibly have the PM installed. I have copies of all the prior tests. If I can't find a reasonable solution in the U.S., I'm willing to engage in medical tourism. If I travel, I hope to get some advice as to where is the best place to go.
I can be based west of Chicago but willing to go wherever it gets done.
Thank you!
8 Comments
No Insurance
by JustLiving - 2016-08-28 17:59:08
I'm working part time. I have small equity in a property. I think that disqualifies me for Medicaid although I would need to verify that.
Go for it
by Good Dog - 2016-08-28 20:34:59
The equity in the property shouldn't matter. Qualifying should be based upon income alone. You should try for the medicaid. Since Obama Care took effect if you have low income and your state participates you should be able to get coverage at no cost. If your state doesn't participate you could move to one that does. It may be worth it if you need a pacemaker.
No Insurance?????
by donr - 2016-08-30 08:15:59
More common than you think.
The cost under Obamacare may be more than many people can afford, contrary to what the Gummint says about the program. Not only is the cost to buy the plans prohibitive for some people, the deductibles & Co-pays are ridiculously high. This makes it rational for people priced out of the program to just not buy insurance & face the penalty.
My daughter's primary care private practice has about 350 patients in its base, & grows by about 2 new patients per day. About 20 % have no insurance at all. About 50% are Medicare. The remainder are saddled by prohibitive deductibles in the multiple thousand $$$ range & elect to just pay cash, knowing that they will NEVER (Short of a catastrophic illness/trauma) use up their deductible.
Just this past week we had a man come in with bad "Road Rash" from a motorcycle accident - about 5% of his skin area was affected. Unemployed - between jobs; NO INSURANCE AT ALL. He had been to a local ER, where he had been given a CAT scan to rule out broken bones & supposedly cleaned up. Cleaned up - HA! He had the beginning of a raging infection & still had sand & bits of denim embedded in his wounds. THe ER bill he faces is over $6,000. When Daughter finishes w/ him, her bill will be over $2,000. How will he pay it? He won't and can't - that is harsh reality. Most of it will be written off as charitable work. Even by the ER.
Before anyone bellyaches about the unavaiability of medical care, I'll tell you that it is there for everyone, you just have to find it. Emergency care is right there in the ER. By Federal law, any ER must provide basic life saving care for anyone who comes in. Many private physicians will take care of indigent patients on a limited basis (After all, physicians have to eat & pay their mortgage just like the rest of us.) In the US, there are many charity hospitals that take care of specialty cases - St Judes in Memphis, TN does childhood cancers. The Shriners have an extensive childhood orthopaedic hospital network all over the US that is charitable. Ever see the statue of a Shriner (Wearing his red fez) carrying a child & dragging its crutches? That is based on a photo of a real Shriner & child taken back in the 1940's. The AFLAC Duck has an extensive program for children; Shepherd Spine Center in Atlanta performs a significant amount of charitable work on Spinal rehab & Traumatic Brain Injuries.
Donr
Same position
by Racerdown - 2016-09-12 20:11:56
Hello. Did you find out anything about pacemaker with no insurance. I am in about same position as you. I do have insurance but it has $10k limit. That was used up in 2 weeks when I was in hospital. Cardiologist said I need CRT. Since I am out of insurance he said hospital would not allow and DR to do the pacemaker. I have advanced heart failure. I checked into medicade. You can have no assets over $2000 total. That includes stock, property, checking and saving account, vehicles, 401k.
Racerdown
by JustLiving - 2016-09-12 21:13:28
I've been narrowing in on open market medical system in US. You may want to Google this yourself. I've really just started but I did find Surgery Center of Oklahoma lists transparent pricing on thier website. I want to call and ask if there is something similar near me but will travel. There's an organization called Free Market Medical Association that connects you with physicians for a fee. I havn't gone that path yet and can't vouch for it. There's Patients Without Borders website if you are a traveler.
You know you're wired when...
Your license plate reads Pacer4Life.
Member Quotes
I live an extremely normal life now and my device does NOT hinder me in any way.
No insurance
by Good Dog - 2016-08-28 16:14:59
I don't know if you are working or not, but if you are not you should be able to use medicaid. I know that some states with Republican governors do not offer medicaid, but I don't know where Illinois stands. That is about all I can think of.