@A MyBCTeam Member UF has been great! They tried initially to send me to North FL hospital but I had a horrible experience with them when my biopsy was scheduled there. They refused to take my voucher (from grant program) for the procedure. I had driven an hour and 15 mins to get there and they basically humiliated me in the waiting room, so no chance I will ever go back to thwm for anything. Thankfully, the grant program then sent me to UF. I used to live in Lakeland. I do miss the convenience of the city sometimes.

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A MyBCTea...

My hospital i was able to make payment plan. I don’t know but i do know if you don’t have the funds they will find financial help for you.

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@A MyBCTeam Member.....I go to Orlando Health. I used to live in central Florida which is where I was when I got diagnosed the first time, but I'm up in Jasper now which is about 15 miles from the Georgia border off of 75. I travel down to Orlando about once a month for appointments and scans. UF in Gainesville is supposed to be a good hospital for cancer patients.

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A MyBCTea...

I was going to suggest that. I livein FLand luckily they have grant funding for women for free mammograms, which is how they found my tumor. After I was diagnosed, they put me on Medicade which covers everything. Before I was aware of that, I found out feom UF hospital that most, if not all hospitals have charity care.

My hospital has a charity plan that I applied for. All of my doctors are working at this same hospital system. I'm on disablity and have both Medicare and a secondary Cigna supplemental plan that I pay $520 a month for and is the best plan I could get when I signed up in Florida a few years ago. I know it's a lot of money, but if I had Medicare Advantage I would be subject to far more deductibles and out of pocket payment requirements so the the high monthly cost is actually cheaper in the long run. It also gives me access to see any doctor I want, in or out of this hospital system, and I'm not required to get referrals to see specialists which avoids a lot of headaches, time, and stress.

I am fortunate that my hospital will bill Medicare and Cigna and if there are any remaining balances due after both insurances make payment, including annual Cigna deductible and co-pays for all doctor appointments, the hospital waives those costs for me and I pay zero out of pocket. I go to a large public, non-profit, teaching hospital that is also a trauma center for the county it's located in. Private for profit hospitals won't necessarily be as generous as a non-profit public hospital since they are in it primarily for the profit money. Wherever you get your cancer treatments done it pays to learn how their specific system works, what free benefits/perks are available to you, and what sort of charity program(s) are available. Once you have that knowledge you can learn to "work" the system to your advantage. You will have better luck getting charity and financial assitance if you are low income. My only income is Social Security disablity and the perks I get through the hospital are due to my low income and because I do not have/use a Medicare Advantage plan.