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Is there a charity that provides hip replacement for those in need?
My mother in law is in need of assistance with hip replacement surgery. She is only 50 years old but can barely walk and complete mundane day to day task and the task she can complete she has to do with assistance of crutches. She was employed when it was stated that she needed hip replacement surgery but before the surgery could be scheduled she was laid off and was offered cobra insurance for $350 a month which she could not afford to pay and pay her month to month bills. She has been denied Medicaid and all other government assisted insurance that we have knowledge of. The doctor that she sees monthly to get Arthritis medication and pain medication has stated if she continues to go without surgery that the hip will not be able to be fixed as it will do irreversible damage. Any help that could be provided would be highly appreciated.
2 Answers
- KrafteeLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
People on Social Security Disability receive Medicare after 24 months.
I sounds as if she might qualify as disabled. No doubt, once she recovered from the surgery she would no longer qualify as disabled.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pgm/disability.htm
Her first move should be to apply for SS Disability. Be aware that this application process takes time and persistance and that the first application may be denied and should be appealed. Also she needs the cooperation of her doctors with documentation of her illness. To qualify as disabled she must be certified as unable to work.
Alternatively, some uninsured Americans have traveled abroad to have expensive procedures (such as hip replacement) at a fraction of what it would cost in the US. There's even a name for this: Medical Tourism. For more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism
or you can google the term "medical tourism" for more.
- KiniLv 71 decade ago
It is too bad she didnt take the Cobra because $350 a month is reasonable for insurance. Now she cant get any health insurance with her condition. That was a mistake in judgment.
However, several states have already started an insurance pool for people with no insurance for 6 months preceding their participation in the health insurance pool. I know Vermont has started theirs, so if she is lucky there might be one in her state. It may cost more than $350 a month.
Medicaid is for low income between under 21 and over 65 or those who are pregnant, disabled, blind, or with minor children as well as low income.
She should start going to a clinic and see a general practitioner who can refer her to an orthopedist and possibly they can do something to help her. Clinics charge a nominal fee based on income. There are many county, community out patient clinics everywhere.
