NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jeremy Eden was in pain, physically and mentally.

The 28-year-old had been told that he needed surgery to treat severe pain from diverticulitis, a digestive disorder in the large intestine. Because his job didn't provide health insurance, but paid him enough to make him ineligible for Medicaid, Eden couldn't afford the colonoscopy.

Then Eden was directed to a new program called Northland CARE/MetroCARE, which connects patients like Eden with primary or specialty care physicians willing to treat them without compensation. It's the latest attempt in a patchwork effort to address the need millions of low-income people have for access to medical care.

Northland CARE/MetroCARE got Eden in to see a gastroenterologist, who recommended other treatments before he considered surgery. For six months, the doctor would see Eden again if he needed another appointment. After that, his needs would be evaluated further.

The program is modeled on others across the country designed to mend a hole in the medical safety net, which leaves thousands of people unable to get care or forced to go to emergency rooms, endangering their health while driving up costs for doctors and hospitals.

"For people like me, there really is nothing else," Eden said. "Just because you fall into the middle class doesn't mean you would be able to afford ungodly expensive procedures. If not for them, my treatment would never have happened. I would have just tried to deal with the pain."

Northland CARE/MetroCARE began recruiting doctors in January and officially opened May 1. Doctors who commit to treating a specific number of uninsured patients are matched with patients from Clay, Platte and Jackson counties needing their services. Eligible patients are connected with either specialists or primary care physicians, depending on where they live.

Northland CARE/MetroCARE does financial screening and gathers all relevant medical records before connecting a patient with a doctor. The patients get a medical card that proves they have been screened for eligibility. After the doctor visit, a nonpayable claim is generated by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The program also provides doctors with a summary of the charitable care they have offered through the year.

The patients can be dropped from the program if they don't keep appointments or follow their doctors' treatment plan.

The national need is large. In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about 43.6 million people are uninsured in this country. While many doctors are willing to treat the uninsured, they are often reluctant because of potential liability and worry of being overwhelmed by patients who can't pay for their treatments.

Dr. Gary Pettett, past president of the Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City -- a partner in the Northland CARE/MetroCARE program -- said such efforts allow doctors to provide some free care without "coming in and finding 100 people in the waiting room."

"Doctors can rest assured that they have some control over patient access and they will be seeing patients who actually qualify for the service," Pettett said.

The concern over liability was partially removed in July when Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed a law that expanded the State Legal Defense Fund to pay judgments for specialists providing free care.

Doctors have responded enthusiastically to the Northland CARE/MetroCARE program, with about 140 signed on, said Karen Dolt, executive director of Northland Care Access.

"By no stretch of the imagination is this a solution to the indigent poor problem, it's not big enough," Pettett said. "But it is a commitment from the professional community to step up and be part of the solution for the metro area."