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Medical treatment when you are uninsured
Dear forum family,
There have been several discussions recently about getting medical help from doctors when you don’t have insurance.
I’ve been thinking that perhaps the key to getting help is by using a hospital MS clinic through a university rather than going through a private practice. Of course the obstacle here is going to be getting the referral to be seen through the hospital setting.
I know all hospitals in the US are required to provide medically necessary services free of charge to any eligible person if you meet the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Many institutions take this a step further and offer assistance to those in need at a different level.
The Ohio State Medical Center where I go to their MS clinic, prints on their bills an application for assistance with your account. They have on their bill “We provide assistance for individuals and families with income at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines.” According to 2008 guidelines for the FPL- a household of 2 is $14,000 or the 400% figure makes an income cap of $56,000. A family of four the FPL is $21,200, with the cap of 400% at $84,800.
The bills have just arrived for my DH’s heart problems last month, and the same type of information regarding assistance with the hospital bills is also printed on the back of that statement. (if you’re curious, his hospital bill alone was over $86,000!).
I am unsure how this applies to other states, but it just seems to me that the key to treatment in the case of underinsured or uninsured MS patients is to go through a hospital setting.
Hopefully my musings make sense,
Lulu
There have been several discussions recently about getting medical help from doctors when you don’t have insurance.
I’ve been thinking that perhaps the key to getting help is by using a hospital MS clinic through a university rather than going through a private practice. Of course the obstacle here is going to be getting the referral to be seen through the hospital setting.
I know all hospitals in the US are required to provide medically necessary services free of charge to any eligible person if you meet the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Many institutions take this a step further and offer assistance to those in need at a different level.
The Ohio State Medical Center where I go to their MS clinic, prints on their bills an application for assistance with your account. They have on their bill “We provide assistance for individuals and families with income at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines.” According to 2008 guidelines for the FPL- a household of 2 is $14,000 or the 400% figure makes an income cap of $56,000. A family of four the FPL is $21,200, with the cap of 400% at $84,800.
The bills have just arrived for my DH’s heart problems last month, and the same type of information regarding assistance with the hospital bills is also printed on the back of that statement. (if you’re curious, his hospital bill alone was over $86,000!).
I am unsure how this applies to other states, but it just seems to me that the key to treatment in the case of underinsured or uninsured MS patients is to go through a hospital setting.
Hopefully my musings make sense,
Lulu
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