You should be proud and I hope some of the uninsured on this group find something where they live so they can manage their afib. Rate and/or rhythm control medicine and a cardiologist is all they need at this point.

You are doing God's work with this information .Can you kindly tell me how do i find that in california , to be straight in and around los angeles .
It is people like you which makes still the great country with all its faults .

thanks so much for sharing

ray
los angeles

Thank you for your info. I did go to some clinic, but I don't know if it was the same thing. They charged me 45 dollars. For that fee they did an ekg, bp, checked for edema, and the fasting blood work panel. I don't know much about fees since I was always insured until 3 days before the afib. I only paid a small co payment before that. Losing my insurance was like a bomb hitting me.
I too am in CA. Ray in LA, have you checked out a government program? I found one for the state but must have a denial from a health organization. I'm still waiting on Kaiser to give me that. I don't qualify for medi-cal, didn't even try. My husband recently retired so we were just readjusting to entering geezerdom.
I couldn't believe how many people were at that clinic, and we met a lot of nice people who were hit with the same bomb as us. Many were veterans like my husband.

Marikay,

You deserve a big hug from everyone. It is people like you who give us faith in life. I myself do not have to worry but I can see where people in need will find the info more than helpful. Thanks.
Moysra.

Good morning jillsanimalfarm: $45 dollars is good price for all the services you received. I fall into the under-insured category and I live in South Florida. I am self employed and carry major medical insurance with a high deductible of $5,200 so any care for my afib is out of pocket including my medications. I usually get charged $45.00 just for an EKG alone. Since being diagnosed, I have learned to shop around alittle and negotiate price for things such as echocardiograms and lab work. My prior cardio even negotiated a price for a heart cath and allowed me to pay monthly payments for it since I did not have my deductible met. He charged $1,800 and did it in his own facility so it kept the costs down. I have found that most of the doctors I visit are open to negotiation. My most recent cardio (I changed after second ablation to a Cardio who also specializes in heart rhythm) once seen me for no charge because I had just been to his office and paid $130 for an office call and he needed me to come back the next day because event monitor was showing things that he wanted to address. I have about $10,000 wrapped up between the two ablations (thank goodness for major medical or I wouldnt have been able to try the ablations) and when the bills started coming in, I just contacted all the providers and set up payment plans and they do not charge interest. Unfortunately, the ablations did not work for me but I tell myself that the money was worth a shot at a cure.Good luck to you. It is tough to fit afib care into a budget but is very necessary. The stress of owing so much money was getting to me and I just had to calm down and tell myself that it is what it is. The old me would have been freaking out about money but since I was diagnosed, I learned I had to reduce my stress and not worry so much :)

I have learned from you guys how lucky I am.

I can't feel the afib.

I am persistent, so nothing changes.

I will be 63 on Dec 28th and have never had any health problems prior to this.

People think I'm 50 (or so).

I make plenty of money.

I have been able to purchase a decent blood pressure machine and EKG.

I have great health insurance.

I am on rate control (Bystolic) and it doesn't bother me.

I got the afib after Pradaxa came out, so I have never had to deal with tests etc.

I have no other heart issues and continue to do athletic things.

Afib is secondary to sleep apnea, which is being successfully treated.

I have this support group.

My decision to explore possibly doing something for afib in the future is on the back burner unless my atria enlarges, my ejection fraction decreases, or something else like atrial fibrosis becomes an issue.

I can really empathize with you guys and am impressed with your strength. I may not feel the afib, but I feel for you guys.

I think I am the kind of guy that when I die I won't know it. :-)

This is the part where Peggy Lee starts singing...

Is that all there is, is that all there is
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze (no, that's a trigger... make it apple juice) and have a ball
If that's all there is

I know that I can speak for myself and others, that we all look forward to your posts Peteycap. You are such an upbeat, knowledgeable and fun person to associate with! Oh, an about the apple juice..just a few nights ago on the news, there is a big uproar about arsenic levels in apple juice...geez! :)

Pete, If that is an up to date picture of you then you certainly do not look 62. Must be all that booze you used to have and not the arsenic laced apple juice !!!!!!
Moysra.

Maybe I got pickled! :-)

well I looked under the fqhc site and didn't see anything unless you are medicaid or medicare. Maybe I just didn't search long enough. Anyone know about that?

I have not yet gave up my occasional dark beer. All things in moderation as I still intend to enjoy my life :)

http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC.aspx

Type your zip code in on the above website and call the number(s) of the centers near you to discuss eligibility.

Thanks Petey,
You are one step ahead of me. I was going to add that link.
Our FQHC sees lots of medicaid, and medicare, but I believe that all FQHC's also have some form of reduced fee for the uninsured. As Petey said...call and ask. Some will also have websites which may give that info. Hope this helps.

I should clarify:
If you are uninsured but do not qualify for medicaid or medicare...
I believe every FQHC has to offer some form of reduced fee based on income. They may also limit how many uninsured new patients they take so you might have to call back frequently. And if you have an income that is too high you may not qualify for the reduced fees.
But if you are uninsured it is worth checking out. Hope this info helps.

Yea, I saw it said "sliding scale".

If you are laid off, you are supposed to be eligible for COBRA... not cheap... but still coverage.