I don’t have insurance and I was curious if anyone could give a ball park figure of three things. MVD. Gamma knife. Ball on compression type blocks. Thanx are surgeons willing to help people with no insurance?
I've heard prices on MVD at ~$120K-$140K US. Gamma Knife is less expensive. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25444994
You can get heavily subsidized medical insurance in the US even if you aren't earning anything. You need to contact a local counselor affiliated with Affordable Care Act State insurance exchanges.
Red I’m stuck in that horrible position of not being rich but not being poor so I not offered any help. Insurance threw my husbands work is outrageously expensive…my question is if it CME down to me needing a procedure can they point blank just not help me? I’ve paid for every drs apointment ( hundreds it seems like) and test out of pocket …probably almost 10k . obviously I wouldn’t have the cash for a big procedure…can they just simply turn you away? How much do you think nerve block type things cost? Thank you so much for all your knowledge
I would still recommend that you talk with someone who is deeply familiar with the financing options under various plans within Obamacare. It is quite rare for these procedures to be funded in full by patients, but subsidy and pro bono arrangements almost certainly vary considerably between providers.
I understand that outpatient nerve block procedures are relatively less expensive (a few hundred to perhaps a thousand dollars). Again from what I read, however, they are also not often effective for suppressing pain for more than a few days.
Go in Peace and Power
Red
Jennifer Muir said:
Red I'm stuck in that horrible position of not being rich but not being poor so I not offered any help. Insurance threw my husbands work is outrageously expensive....my question is if it CME down to me needing a procedure can they point blank just not help me? I've paid for every drs apointment ( hundreds it seems like) and test out of pocket ...probably almost 10k . obviously I wouldn't have the cash for a big procedure...can they just simply turn you away? How much do you think nerve block type things cost? Thank you so much for all your knowledge
Red what is it called where they actually go in and kill the nerve?
Severing the nerve entirely would be called "neurectomy", and it is very risky. A lot of patients respond to neurectomy with a central nervous system type of pain similar to "phantom limb pain" (called deafferentiation pain) that is almost impossible to treat effectively. "Partial nerve section" on the other hand, seeks to create a controlled lesion which partially blocks the response of the nerve to normally non-painful stimuli. Glycerol Rhizotomy damages primarily the surface layers of the nerve by exposing them to a neuro-toxin chemical agent. Glycerol tends to be effective (when it is), for an average of a year, and it can be repeated. I'm not certain of the statistics on success and recurrence for partial nerve section.