Uninsured and diagnosed with breast cancer (not me) any ideas??

[Biciclista]

write to your congressmen?

tell her to go to her church, if she belongs to one?

Medical problems are the biggest source of Bankruptcy in the USA.
shame on us.

[Possegal]

regarding the meds - a lot of the companies have programs where they will supply the drugs at a reduced fee, or for free, depending on someone's financial situation. so once a chemo plan is in place, she should look into programs like that.

[jobob]

Or perhaps look into a clinical trial? Full treatment is often paid for in those. Possibly not ideal, but I thought I'd mention it.

Some listings can be found here.

http://www.bcrfcure.org/action_clinicaltrials.html

[Tuckervill]

They won't even see her unless she pays up? That's insane.

She should really be going through public health, if that's available. Surely she's old enough for Medicare?

My ex husband got cancer in his kidneys last year, uninsured. The hospital wrote off 80% and is letting him pay off the rest in small increments. The most important thing is not to sweat the bills. Who cares if they're asking for money, as long as she gets the treatment. Maybe she should find another place to do her treatments, as well.

Sending good vibes out to her.

Karen

[Running Mommy]

my friend mentioned that his parents have lived modestly on 30k a year. So I'm not sure if they qualify, I don't know what the cut off is. But I will have him check into it.
Thanks all for your input. I will pass it along, and hopefully we can get something done.
I think it comes down to finding a doctor who cares.
When I was facing the same thing, and knew my insurance was ending soon, my doctor told me she would help me. And that I didn't have to worry about it.
Lucky for me the MRI showed nothing... wheww. But I dodged a bullet for sure.

[Crankin]

I am pretty sure she would qualify for AHCCS, with those numbers. My MIL is now in assisted living and the whole thing is handled by them. And, it's a very nice place in Mesa.
Ditto on the hospital social worker. My husband and his siblings went to a social service agency that just deals with medical issues and the elderly. They got a very bad situation squared away in 3 days.

[roadie gal]

Definitely look into clinical trials.

Talk to the hospital folks. They should have someone who specializes in helping people get insurance/financial aid.

[michelem]

I am pretty sure she would qualify for AHCCS, with those numbers.

Here is the link to AHCCS. http://www.ahcccs.state.az.us/Site/ Unfortunately, it looks like her income is WAY to high to qualify (as of 01/01/09, an individual living with spouse qualifies with income 1/2 of 1,167/month after deductions, which comes out to a little over $7,000 a year). Sigh . . .

BUT, good news is that they now have something called BCCTP (Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program), with a much higher limit (looks like close to $35,000 a year).

Oddly enough, there is conflicting income info on the spreadsheet here http://www.ahcccs.state.az.us/Servic...NoChildren.asp and this page here: http://www.ahcccs.state.az.us/Servic...dren.asp#BCCTP

So, best to call and find out the real scoop. Hopefully your friend's mom qualifies for something here!