I do not recommend that anyone get treated at a facility that your insurance does not cover. But it isn't that difficult to get a referral to the Mayo Clinic from another specialist in my experience, though I go to the original one in Minnesota. They definitely have some of the best doctors available there, and I have been very pleased with each of the roughly 10 doctors I've seen there, including 3 or 4 neurologists and neurosurgeons. The half dozen or so neuro-doctors I had seen before them in some of the most renowned clinics and teaching hospitals in the Twin Cities were all completely ignorant when it came to my condition and therefore acted extremely defensive, hostile, rude, and condescending toward me. I honestly thought all neurologists and neurosurgeons were useless idiots and complete jerks who had no clue at all what do do with any patients who weren't magically cured by Neurontin and the other poisonous anti-seizure drugs they worshipped. But Mayo was completely different, and I recently read that their neurology department is ranked as #1 in the country...are you anywhere close to Minnesota? Because if there is any way you can get treatment from the main Mayo Clinic, I highly doubt you will be disappointed with the quality of care, and I honestly believe their team of doctors will be as well or better suited to treat you as any others you could find, both because of their skill level and because of the efficient and cooperative system in which they operate. Just by way of example, my main doctor at Mayo, who heads up their orofacial pain department, has referred me to nearly a dozen specialists hoping they had any suggestions that might help me (I have an extremely unusual, rare condition which everyone in the medical community tells me is still very mysterious and poorly understood, lucky me) and has consistently been able to set up appointments for me with the heads of a variety of departments within a few days. He is also amazingly caring, dedicated and experienced...both the doctors I see there regularly are willing to inconvenience themselves on extremely short notice in order to help their patients in any way they can. I believe that the Mayo Clinic in AZ is a completely separate institution who does not benefit from the unique financial structure of Minnesotan medical organizations nor the vast endowment and thus the financial ability to attract great doctors that the original Mayo Clinic benefits from. Again, if you have any way of getting in to see them, I would recommend it very highly, particularly if you are desperate for help, and I'm very sorry to hear that you weren't pleased with your experience at the AZ clinic.