Welcome to Neuro Talk. I am sorry to hear that you have such a lousy back. I do understand the pain. I am fused C3-7. When this first happened to me, I asked both the hospital, and the neruosurgeon for help financially. There are hospital advocasy groups in just about every hospital. My neuro surgeon gave a big discount, and I didn't wind up paying very much for the hospital. It was based on what my income was. There are also womens centers, which can help direct you to agencies set up for just this kind of problem. I had other problems after that, which required additional surgery. I had no insurance at all. This agency paid for my surgery 100% as their goal is to get you back to work. As long as you intend to go back to work, they will do the proceedure. Granted, this took months of investigation. Please talk to your neruosurgeon and ask him directly for the help. No matter what, get the second opinion any time you are contemplating surgery. I should have done that, but I was too eager to be rid of the pain. I wasn't told about "all" of the problems assiciated with my cervical spine. Check your local hospital, and see if there is help available. I was never allowed to have insurance because I had pre-existing conditions. I hope you can try to appeal the decision your insurance company gave you too. I wish you all the best, and I hope you get some help. ginnie