accept HMOs, and fees are low about $30 per visit for those who can afford it. If that's outside a patient's budget, Davis, the sole physician, accepts goods in lieu of money, including homemade chicken tamales, deer meat and fresh vegetables. "He's a modern-day hero," says Dr. Marie Kuffner, immediate past president of the California Medical Association. "Here's a doctor who said, 'My principles mean more to me than being a slave to a system that doesn't care about patients."' Adds Yolo County Director of Health Betty Hinton: "He just got tired of the managed-care system most physicians are required to live with now. He wanted to practice his way."

That philosophy is reflected in the foundation's motto: "By and For the People of Winters." To that end the WHF provides services not traditionally offered by medical insurance, such as volunreer-administered diabetes screenings at churches, transportation for out-of-town hospital visits, looking in on elderly patients-even cleaning patients' houses and mowing their lawns. "We are empowering the patients t do something about their healthcare," says Joe Martinez, 53, a walnut rancher who serves as president of the foundation's board. "You don't fill out forms in triplicate here. "

If it is short on bureaucracy, the foundation is also low on cash. It barely covers the monthly overhead of about $4,000, leaving nothing.