@mingyue fyi when we were in AZ for 2 months for my liver transplant at Mayo my wife talked to the hotel manager. He told her he was on Medicare, used Mayo, switched to Medicare Advantage but it was better in many ways. But did not realize Mayo did not accept that. Could not use Mayo that year but he told her he switched back to regular Medicare and Mayo took him back. You should verify before doing something like that but fyi. Also I bet they do give you a discount if paying on your own w/o insurance but don't know for sure. Best of luck.

@mingyue
Can I suggest calling the Mayo Clinic you want to go through. They have financial offices along with patient assistance/experience office and phone numbers to assist.

If you look at what Mayo charges for treatments and you see what Medicare will approve Mayo could not survive as does not cover the massive buildings, medical equipment, and the best specialists (in my opinion) in the world.

@mingyue
If you do decide to go back to Original Medicare, it would need to be during the regular annual enrollment period unless you have a qualifying personal reason. Also, remember to pick a Part D (prescriptions) coverage) if you have no secondary insurance for that, as Original Medicare doesn't cover prescriptions. You havev63 days to choose 1, and after that there's a penalty.

@mingyue I believe Mayo will work with you to some degree, but fifty percent is a stretch. You could give Mayo a proactive call, finance department, and ask if they have leeway for uninsured or underinsured patients.

Also have you tried Healthwell Foundation, TotalAssist, or other foundations for grants? MDS is closed everywhere I’ve looked recently, but it cannot hurt to get usernames and passwords set up in advance. I’ve seen income limits at 300% to 500% of the poverty level, so many people are prohibited from receiving foundation grants.

My opinion about Medicare Advantage - never, ever. That’s just my opinion, but I know some people say it’s great.