Ideas for getting health care when you have no insurance

[Guest guest]

Yellow,

I was a participant in a clinical trial for an oral medication at

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC.

That's near where I live. It's a teaching hospital.

If you're in a study, you generally have to fit the specifics they

are looking for, but you get free care for your chronic illness and

they observe you while you're taking the medicine. They also outline

in a contract what they will do and what you're supposed to do. I

should also mention that the first thing they verified was that I

actually had the disease in question. All this information gathering

was funded by the drug company and test results became their

property.

Participating in a study literally changed the course of my chronic

illness for the better. I received 6 months of medication after the

study for free as a thank-you for participating(Value $6,000). I

also got to see a world class physician in the area of my illness

for almost 2 years(for FREE). The study(drug company) even paid for

my parking in the parking garage while I was at the hospital.

You could do a little checking at the National Institute of Health

and see if there's any kind of clinical trial for RA in Michigan or

nearby. Here's a url that might get you started:

<http://www.niams.nih.gov/rtac/prog_staff/director.htm#RHEUMATIC_DISE

ASES>.

I was diagnosed for my chronic illness while I had no insurance at a

local ministry-run clinic where different physicians and nurses

volunteered their time. They also had a pharmacy where I could buy

medications at a reduced price. You may not always get the newest,

priciest drugs here, but you do get something.

This is not a perfect scenario, but it will get you started until

you can do something better for yourself. I had to go through a year

where my dh's insurance would not cover me because I had a pre-

existing condition. Luckily, that 6 months of free medication I got

from the study was received while I was going through that year. I

managed to get through that period of time without a flare-up of

illness.

Going this route is not convenient. You have to wait longer and you

have to provide more information. Your income may keep you from

getting into a clinic, but you should be able to ask questions while

you're there and possibly find a doctor who will take you " self-pay "

until you can do something else.

Hope this helps,

Nita, the survivor :0)