I am not far from either you Belinda, or Curious. Doesn't Tarrant County have a county hospital or health program that offers sliding scale charges based on financial need for people in this situation?

My friend here, in a similar situation, has gotten some very expensive meds from the pharmaceutical manufacturer after applying for help through their website, or her doctor, I cannot remember which. Other meds she got were received from her doctor who provided her with a series of samples of various drugs.

I don't know if this will work or not, but recently I approached my surgeon to see if he had any ideas on how to help my friend's husband, who has a TERRIBLE hernia and also no insurance. He told me he would see him at no charge, but he also told me that where the husband would really get hurt would be with hospital surgery charges. I have no idea how or if he would adjust his fees for surgery... Meanwhile, my friend and her husband are considering other options too, like surgery in Monterry, Mexico, which is said to be good and considerably less expensive.

Since you don't have a hospital to deal with, I was wondering if there are any sympathetic docs left around the area. I have never known anyone to approach a doctor in this manner, but if I were going to try this, I would attempt to find a General Practitioneer, someone who had been practicing for some time and not currently paying back medical school loans, and just write a nice, brief note and ask if there is any way that he/she could help with your care and inform them of your ability to pay. The answer might be no, but then I would never have thought the surgeon might be open to helping either...


Cathie