My son-in-law's father just suffered a heart attack and stroke. He is presently hospitalized and scheduled to be airlifted to Mayo because of kidney failure.

I know him and his family well. They have no insurance. They have no source of income. They have absolutely nothing of any value nor do they stand a chance of ever accumulating anything of value.

The healthcare costs, I'm sure, will be astronomical (Probably tens of thousands if not more), and they can't afford one penney.

What happens next? Do they have any hope? Is there a possible solution?

Can he apply for the state medicaid program? There is also a program called Hill-Burton Act, passed in 1946, that gave hospitals, nursing homes and other health facilities grants and loans for construction and modernization. In return, they agreed to provide a reasonable volume of services to persons unable to pay and to make their services available to all persons residing in the facility's area. The program stopped providing funds in 1997, but about 300 health care facilities nationwide are still obligated to provide free or reduced-cost care.

Here is the link: HRSA - Hill-Burton Free and Reduced Cost Health Care

You can find out if one of the hospitals is near him. But you said he is going to Mayo and that hospital is not on the list. Might be some information to keep for further reference.

Find out if Mayo has a charity case program. He should apply if they do. Other than that, there are not many options that I can think of. Hopefully someone else will have some ideas.