I have an emergency health care question

[Oilwellian]

A friend of my son's is 19 years old, has no health insurance and has wisdom teeth that are growing in sideways. As you can imagine, he's in a great deal of pain and the teeth will have to be cut out. He went to the hospital recently and their treatment was to load him up with painkillers. This in no way solves his problem and he needs oral surgery to alleviate his pain.

Does anyone know if there are any federal or state statutes that protect people like him and requires that hospitals or doctors treat the problem despite his being uninsured? If so, could you please direct me to where I can find these statutes so that he can go back armed with information that will support him. We live in Virginia if that is also a factor that needs to be known.

Thanks to anyone who can help this poor kid.

[cally]

1. Have him check dental schools

I know I had some dental work done there very inexpensively when I couldn't afford a regular dentist. My husband had his wisdom teeth removed at a dental school, also.

[Oilwellian]

6. That's a great idea

Thanks so much for the suggestion.

[OKNancy]

2. If you don't have insurance then you pay for it yourself

I don't have insurance, but I have been able to work out payment plans with my dentist, and endodontist. Of course, I have a history with the dentist, so he knows I will pay. Several years ago, I was hospitalized ( $4000 ) and I paid that out too. They were happy to get it.

( Insurance premiums for my family are much higher than what I have spent on healthcare....luckily. I do have a catastropic policy, but it doesn't kick in until $20,000)

[htuttle]

3. The ER probably won't do it until they get infected...

...and you really wouldn't want to wait that long.

A dental college is your best bet. It won't be free, but much cheaper.

In general, the only hospitals that *have* to take you without insurance are publicly subsidised ones, like county & city hospitals, etc... All hospitals are *supposed* to take you if it's life threatening, but only as long as it takes to stabilize the situation, then off to the city hospital.

[La_Serpiente]

4. At my university

they give free cleanings. I am sure you could go to a college here and they will have a student with the supervision of the master dentist watching over him.

[Ramsey]

5. Apply for assistance

Does your state have an assistance program for the uninsured? To get assistance, he will probably need to demonstrate that he cannot financially afford to purchase his own insurance. Is he in school? If so, his school probably has a medical clinic. I am not aware of any federal statute that requires hospitals to treat the uninsured for non-emergent care. It would be worth checking out your state laws though.

If he can swing it, he really should get some kind of coverage (although that may not help for the "pre-existing condition" situation). I know many young people think they are healthy and don't want to "waste" the money on it, but this is a perfect example of how it really should be a priority in the budget of even a young healthy person.

[Nikia]

7. Find a dental surgeon that you know

Explain to him or her that your friend needs this procedure but cannot pay for it all at once and does not have insurance. Hopefully, he has some money and can make a payment of $100 or so the day of the extractions. I cannot remember the exact amount, but I believe that my two soft tissue, and two hard tissue extractions were just over $1000 two years ago. I don't know his financial situation, but if he could pay that amount within a year, I think that most dental surgeons would be sympathetic and treat him.

[HFishbine]

8. What state are you in?

?

[Melsky]

9. I had mine out as San Francisco General

from a student dentist. It was where they have dental work done on prisoners too, and there were big guys in orange jumpsuits in chairs on either side of me. (They didn't have private rooms, just little booths.) My dentist was a really fun guy, making a lot of bizzare jokes while extracting my teeth. Between all that and whatever drugs they gave me, it was a pretty surreal experience.

[sandnsea]

10. Here's a link

Virginia Dental Health Foundation. There's some articles in here about dentists getting together to offer free/low-income clinics. Maybe there's a phone number in here that someone can call. I know there's sliding scale dental clinics in Oregon and Arkansas. I think they're becoming more common because Medicaid has quit covering dental care and people are in real trouble. Hope he finds something soon! Many years ago there was funding for community hotlines that were supposed to be clearinghouses for all community services. You might want to try to find that too, call the WIC office or something. They're usually the kindest people in the social service system.

http://198.65.229.210/public/VDHF/VDHF.html

[onecitizen]

11. Check with your COUNTY..........

Health Dept. Should be listed in your phone book under COUNTY services.

You're a good friend.

[Oilwellian]

12. Thanks so much to everyone

For your most excellent suggestions. I'll keep you posted on what help I can find for this young man.