cost of removing fillings

I have four or five Amalgam fillings that I am just dying (not litterally, I hope) to get out but I am worried about cost. I haven't checked but am just assuming my dental insurance is not going to help at all. Can anyone tell me what an approximate cost might be to get these out. Also, how long does the process take to get out this many fillings. I will have to travel about three hours away. I live in Iowa and when I wrote to IAOMT, they said that because of the strict laws in my state, no dentists that did removal were willing to give their names for fear of losing their liscences. Very frustrating!! Does anybody know how I can go about trying to feel out a dentist who might do the work but has to be careful about who finds out, or am I better off just travelling?