My son was just diagnosed with lyme's disease. I am uninsured and noone the people I call aren't helping!?

Question

My son was just diagnosed with lyme's disease. I am uninsured and noone the people I call aren't helping! I need assistance and a kind soul to help my 5 year old son now before the disease effects him more. please any advice or connections? If you are a doctor in south jersey please help. thanks-

Answer 1

You need to learn as much as possible about this complex illness, in order to help your son.

New Jersey has an on-line support group for Lyme:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/New...

Members of this group can let you know about resources in your area.

Also,  the Lyme Disease Association has a fund to help pay for Lyme testing for kids who can't afford it.

There's also a yahoo group for parents of kids with Lyme:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Lym...

Good sources of info about Lyme disease:

http://www.lymedisease.org

http://www.canlyme.com

http://www.lymenet.org

http://www.lymeinfo.net

http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org

http://www.ilads.org

http://www.betterhealthguy.com

http://www.publichealthalert.com

Answer 2

Most hospitals now have financial counselors for people with no health insurance. Call around to local hospitals, and a counselor will help you find a doctor, and you just pay what you can afford to pay. They will charge you by your income, so the less money you make, the less you have to pay. Some services are actually free, if you can't afford to pay for them. I just went through this. I got sick, and have no insurance, and a counselor helped me get a doctor's appointment, and other help i needed. Good luck, hope your son feels better soon :-)

Answer 3

your son needs to go on antibiotics asap!  here is a site that should help you affford medical care.

http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dma...

if you do not qualify, take him to the hospital, it is state law that they must see him and treat him, (or send him somewhere that can) even if he is uninsured!

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...

Answer 4

Your state should provide some sort of insurance for kids. Like Badger care in Wisconsin. (where I live) It's called Medicaid.

Answer 5

Up her in the Buffalo, New York area they have a state program called Child's Health Plus.  Paying for insurance goes by your income a friend of mine got it for $7.00 per month.  Check into your state.

Answer 6

I found this:

Medicaid, however, is a different federal health insurance program which can cover children if their families have low income and few assets other than their home. If a family qualifies for Medicaid coverage, almost all of a child's health care needs can be paid for, with only very small copayments by the family.

Have you looked into Medicaid for support with your son's antibiotics?

Answer 7

You need to apply for state aid, or see if there is a public hospital you can go to.  Don't expect a doctor to provide free care to him.  It sucks, but they need to be paid for their services as well.  You may be able to get some sort of Medicaid or Children's lower cost insurance through the government.  Applying is a pain, but you have to do it.

Answer 8

Apply for Medicaid and go to a Medicaid approved doctor.  Medicaid will take a few months to make a decision but will ultimately pay for medical bills up to 3 months prior to the date of your application.  

If they require a spend down, just pay it for the months that your son needs treatment.  After that, if you can't afford the spend down, then cancel the Medicaid.