I'm not happy about people using this forum for their personal political views...let's keep it to what it should be AFIB SUPPORT GROUP!!

Thank you!

Hi everyone and thanks for all of the comments. Currently I am only on oral medication, Cardizem QID and ASA OD. I do pay for my doctor visits and they help me out with discounts, along with giving medication that is cheaper. I am unfortunately one of the working class that falls above the threshold of receiving any type of federal assistance. I just wanted to know of programs that could assist with large bills, I currently owe my local hospital $14,000 and am making payments to them monthly. They do treat me when necessary, but the bill is getting astronomical. Not sure if I can ever pay it off. Just asking for suggestions. When I am in AF, which is happening about every one to two weeks and lasting from two to twelve hours, it makes me feel like I am at death's door. I don't want to feel this way, and asking for suggestions. Thanks everyone

CJWinter,

Maybe you should ask your doctor about prescribing some sort of rhythm control drug. I take 100 mg flecainide 2x a day and that has kept me out of the ER. I think you can get discounts on this drug. Take care.

Well said svenska.

Hi CJWinter- I am sorry your post got hijacked by political stance and opinion. My hope is that you do not feel that this is part of the norm here on this website. Most of the time, we discuss and share what is truly relevant to a person's post, since we are all in the same Afib boat. If I learn of any information that might be helpful, I will be sure to pass it along to you. In the meantime, many other posters had some great info. Especially the suggestion to have maybe a pill in pocket approach to assist with episodes that might help keep you out of the ER. Take care, Carrie

CJ, have you tried negotiating with your hospital about your bill? Very often, they'll work with you and lower the amount owed.

You can also ask the hospital's patient liason to review your case and see whether you can qualify for financial assistant from the government, a charity, or the hospital itself. But it sounds like you have already explored that and are above the threshold. It wouldn't hurt to try.

If you make less than $42,000 a year, you can qualify for the Prescription Assistance Program. Here's a link:

http://www.myrxadvocate.com/?
gclid=COPKtqHlxbgCFUqk4AodgCkAMAn

and another progrma:

http://www.needymeds.org/

Of course, you can also contact the drug companies themselves. They very often will provide their products for free to those who can't afford them.

Thanks for the information, unfortunately I do fall above the 42,000 threshold. I will ask my doctor about the medicine flecainide, as I have not heard of it before. I know the Cardizem is an old drug and there are newer ones out there. But, the last drug that he put me on, which was Lisinopril, to help the upper enlarged portions of my heart gave me a side effect from h,.,,ll. It took my general doctor to tell me to get off of it and another three months to get over the side effects.....horrible drug.....worse side effects. I don't know if I trust him, but we only have two heart doctors in town and the other one is worse. He told me to stop all of my meds after taking them for twenty-five years, cold turkey. I told him he was crazy! I live in a small rural town and the closest big city is over two hours away. And if you call one of them they give you the riot act for payment when you tell them you are self pay. Gives a lot of confidence in the medical profession...HAHA. Sorry, kind of venting. I appreciate all of the thoughts and comments. I just feel like I am between a rock and a hard place. CJ

You can still try negotiating with the hospital. They'll often reduce the amount you owe even if you're above that threshold. People have extenuating circumstances. You have nothing to lose.. but your debt!

CJ: I see you are in Missouri in your profile. I did a search on the Heart Rhythm Society "Find a Specialist" Search Tool for Missouri (not knowing what town you are in). Anyway, below is the list. FHRS is a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society (the highest level for electrophysiologists),

http://www.hrsonline.org/Find-a-Specialist#axzz2a1VDKuxx

Mazda Biria, MD
Heartland-Health Medical Center
5514 Corporate Drive
Suite 150
Saint Joseph, MO 64507
(816) 271-1241

Gregory W. Botteron, MD
Heart Specialty Associates
10012 Kennerly Rd
Ste 202
Saint Louis, MO 63128
(314) 692-2807
Website: http://metroheart.com

William N. Brodine, MD
Kansas City Cardiology Associates, Inc.
3200 NE Ralph Powell Rd
Lees Summit, MO 64064
(816) 523-4525

Burt I. Bromberg, MD
St. John's Mercy Medical Center
621 S New Ballas Rd
Ste 198A
Saint Louis, MO 63141-8256
(314) 251-6777

Scott S. Chapman, MD
Northland Cardiology
2790 Clay Edwards Drive
Suite 520
North Kansas City, MO 64157
(816) 221-6750

More info



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Jane Chen, MD, FHRS
Washington Univ/B-JH/SLCH Consortium Program
Washington Univ School of Medicine
660 S Euclid Ave
Box 8086
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 454-7834

Aparna Cherla, MD
FDC Cardiology
3800 S National Ave
Ste 160
Springfield, MO 65807
(417) 875-3366

Lawrence S. Cohen, MD
Ofc of Lawrence S. Cohen, MD
8701 Troost Ave
Kansas City, MO 64131-2767
(816) 363-8100

Daniel H. Cooper, MD
Washington University School of Medicine, Cardiology
660 S Euclid Ave
Campus Box 8086
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 454-7834
Website: http://cardiology.wustl.edu/details.aspx?navid=676

Jonas A. Cooper, MD, MPH
Butler Health System
660 Euclid Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 362-5000

Phillip S. Cuculich, MD
Washington University
660 S Euclid Ave
Campus Box 8086
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 454-7834

Ralph J. Damiano, Jr., MD
Washington University Medical School, Cardiothoracic Surgery
660 S Euclid Ave
Campus box 8234
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 362-7327

Amit Doshi, MD
Mercy Heart and Vascular
625 S New Ballas Rd
Ste 2030
Saint Louis, MO 63141
(314) 251-1700

Jerome V. Dwyer, MD
St. Louis Cardiology Center PC
3009 N Ballas Rd
Ste 202 Bldg B
Saint Louis, MO 63131
(314) 995-6839

Scott W. Ferreira, MD
St. Louis University Hospital, Cardiology
3635 Vista Ave
Desloge Towers, 13th Floor
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 577-8894
Website: http://www.slu.edu/slucare.xml

Greg C. Flaker, MD, FHRS, CCDS
Univ of Missouri Hospital & Clinics, Div of Cardiology
1 Hospital Dr
MC314 McHaney Hall
Columbia, MO 65212-0001
(573) 882-2296

Rafael J. Gaytan, MD
St John's Group Heart Care,Cardiology
2817 McClelland Blvd
Ste 125
Joplin, MO 64804
(417) 781-5387
Marye J. Gleva, MD, FHRS
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S Euclid Ave
Ste 8086
Saint Louis, MO 63110-1010
(314) 454-7834

Sanjaya K. Gupta, BA, MB, MBA, MD
St. Luke's East Hospital
20 NE St. Luke'S Blvd
Suite 240
Lee'S Summitt, MO 64086
(816) 931-1883
Website: http://www.cc-pc.com/

Rajiv R. Handa, MD, FHRS
Heart Specialty Associates
10012 Kennerly Rd
Ste 202
St. Louis, MO 63128
(314) 775-3006

J. Edward Hulse, MD, CEPS
Children's Mercy Hospital, Dept of Pediatric Cardiology
2401 Gillham Rd
Kansas City, MO 64108-4619
(816) 234-3255

Andrew J. Krainik, MD, FHRS
The Arrhythmia Center of BJC Medical Group
3009 N Ballas Rd
Ste 264C
Saint Louis, MO 63131
(314) 996-7940

Mark D. Levin, MD
Washington University, Pediatrics
1 Children's Pl
Box 8208
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 454-6095

Stephen J. Pieper, MD, FHRS
The Heart Health Center
450 N New Ballas Rd
Ste 170 W Wing
Saint Louis, MO 63141-6835
(314) 993-6969

Dan L. Pierce, MD
Missouri Heart Center
1605 E Broadway
Ste 300
Columbia, MO 65201-8023
(573) 256-7700

Michael I. Prior, MD
John Cochran VA MC
Dept of Cardiology C-220
915 North Grand Blvd
St Louis, MO 63106
(813) 259-0660

Antonella Quattromani, MD, CCDS
Premier Medical Specialist
2325 Dauthery Ferry Rd Suite 102
St. Louis, MO 63122
(314) 965-0017

Karthik Ramaswamy, MD, FHRS
Arrhythmia Center
3009 North Ballas Road
Suite 264 C
Saint Louis, MO 63131-2382
(314) 996-7940
Website: http://www.missouribaptist.org

Ricardo A. Ramos, MD
Heartland Regional Medical Center
5514 Corporate Dr
Ste 150
Saint Joseph, MO 64507-7752
(816) 271-1249

Sanjeev D. Ravipudi, MD
Missouri Heart Center
1605 E Broadway
Ste 300
Columbia, MO 65201-8023
(573) 256-7700

L. Brick Rigden, MD
Northland Cardiology
2790 Clay Edwards Dr
Ste 520
North Kansas City, MO 64116-3274
(816) 221-6750

Jason A. Rytlewski, MD
MO Heart Center
1605 East Broadway
Suite 300
Columbia, MO 65201
(573) 818-8080

Jose Mauricio Sanchez, MD, FHRS
Mercy Heart and Vascular
450 N Ballas Rd
West Wing Ste 170
Saint Louis, MO 63141
(314) 993-6969

Michael L. Shapiro, MD
Metro Heart Group of St. Louis
10012 Kennerly Rd
Ste 202
Saint Louis, MO 63128-2197
(314) 692-2807

Jennifer N.A. Silva, MD
Washington University School of Medicine, Pediatrics
1 Children's Pl
CB 8116 NWT
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 454-6095

Timothy W. Smith, MD, DPhil, FHRS
Washington Univ School of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division
660 S Euclid Ave
Campus Box 8086
Saint Louis, MO 63108
(314) 454-7834

Gabriel E. Soto, MD, PhD, FHRS
SoutheastHEALTH
371 S. Broadview
Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
(513) 334-6008

Harold W. Stites, III, MD
Midwest Heart Associates
6420 Prosoect
T509
Kansas City, MO 64132
(816) 276-4800

Svjetlana Tisma-Dupanovic, MD, CCDS, CEPS
The Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics, Pediatric Cardiology
2401 Gillham Rd
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 234-3255

Robert Tian-Run Tung, MD
Kansas City Heart Group
930 Carondelet Dr
Ste 200
Kansas City, MO 64114-4698
(816) 941-7727

George Van Hare, MD, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hospital
1 Children's Place
Campus Box 8116
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 454-4217
Website: http://stlchildrens.org/heart

Chandrasekhar R. Vasamreddy, MD, FHRS
Midwest Cardiology Associates
19550 E 39th St
Ste 210
Independence, MO 64055
(816) 503-4403

Pitt Vesom, MD, CCDS
Kennett Cardiology Associates
1231 First St
Ste 6
Kennett, MO 63857
(573) 888-1954
Website: http://www.hma.com

Richard J. Weachter, MD
Univ of Missouri Hospital
1 Hospital Dr Box DCO95-00
Columbia, MO 65212-0001
(573) 882-2296

Stanley D. Wiggins, MD
St. John's Physicians and Clinic
2115 S Fremont Ave STE 4300
Springfield, MO 65804-2232

Alan P. Wimmer, MD, FHRS
Mid America Heart Institute
4330 Wornall Rd
Ste 2000
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 931-1883


petey

Is the dr you see an EP? Petey gave you a great list of EPs. I would likely still be dealing with a couple episodes (very symptomatic) if I hadn't gone to an EP. He put me on flecainide, anantiarrtyhmic, that has worked very well for me. I have maybe 2 episodes a year. I can take an extra flecainide and that helps me convert within a hour usually.
Of course, an EP isn't cheap, but certainly cheaper in the long run than ER visits and hospital bills. I see my EP yearly right now. Something to consider.

I meant I would be dealing with a couple episodes a WEEK instead of a couple a year.

Wow, thanks Petey and everyone else. No the doctor that I see is a heart doctor, but not an EP. I will check them out, and make an appointment. I would rather pay a doctor and a higher medicine amount than a continuous hospital bill. I will talk with the hospital, it sure won't hurt. Thanks again so much everyone. I will keep you updated. CJ