I have been approved for the Radiesse for facial wasting compassionate care program, but now am having a hard time finding a doctor in the Los Angeles area who will do the procedure for minimal cost. Most seem to adjust their fees to match the total cost of the procedure without the free product.

Hello, and thanks for posting.

I wish that there were more doctors who would perform these procedures at a discounted rate for financially strapped patients.

I have been encouraging some of my colleagues to consider a sliding scale fee schedule for patients on the assistance programs. I have not had any success as yet. This might be because my powers of persuasion are not so powerful. It may also be that more medical practices are under financial pressure and less inclined to get involved with discounted work.

This is why advocacy and political action to get these treatments paid for by Medicare is such a crucial project. Some private insurance companies will follow the lead of Medicare when it comes to coverage decisions. But most just do whatever they can to spend the least amount of dollars on patients and doctors, so that they can put more of those dollars into the pockets of senior management and their owners. In my opinion, the part of our healthcare system that the insurance companies control is stupid and corrupt and they ought to be fired.