Cancer Exacts a Significant Financial Burden
5 Ways to Avoid Cancer Metastasizing to Your Wallet by Dena Stern
The Cost of Cancer by Suleika Jaouad
One must inquire about financial assistance in most medical facilities. This info is not standard information given to patients (examples: payment plans, assistance grants, etc).
Know that you can negotiate your payment plan even when you hear “This is all we can do” or “I can only authorize this amount.”
Take time to understand your account statement. If you don’t, call someone in the billing department or ask a trusted friend/relative to do so for you.
Know that you don’t have to pay a bill until you receive your explanation of benefits (EOB) from your insurance company. Many times, the bill is different than the insurance statement.
By all means, if you notice an error or believe an error was made on the medical bill or the EOB, do call and inquire.
W…
Tell your doctor immediately that you don’t have much money so she or he will put you in touch with the Financial Counselor at your hospital. And always tell your doctor if you aren’t taking your meds because you can’t afford them. There is lots of help.
M …
I applied for financial assistance with the hospital I was working with. It was granted and wiped off most of my remaining balance.
Please, please ask people to talk to their social workers. They might be able to assist them.
Also, search for cancer specific assistance. I was able to get meals delivered to my house for 8 weeks from the NOCC because I have ovarian cancer.
Thanks for your list. I apply for everything. I have financial assistance because of it.
Hugs and kisses,
L …
One tip that is frequently not discussed by the treating physicians and also not well perceived by cancer survivors is the cost/benefit of the drugs, especially in era of targeted and immunotherapy.
Many of these agents cost thousands, yet survival benefit is often measured in weeks and can have significant complications with negative impact on quality of life.
Cancer survivors and their loved ones are understandably emotional and want to do everything regardless of the cost.
It would be a great service to have a list of these agents for each disease site and cost per dose and the expected survival benefit from the actual clinical trial using the drug.
N …
I once had $7000 forgiven by a surgeon. The fact that the 25 hour surgery failed to do what it was supposed to and unnecessarily sacrificed a host of my body parts may have been a factor. But he still didn’t have to do that.
Love you,
T …
When someone asks how they can help you when you get diagnosed and IF they are a bit savvy about finances, ask them if they will take charge of your finances, be your advocate. I am not talking about “getting your finances in order” stuff, but the daily stress of insurance coverage and meeting with the hospital financial director … stuff like that. That one person can make all the difference in your stress levels. Maybe get two people on your A-Team.
C …
Hello! I am coming up to my 8th year anniversary of surviving pancreatic cancer! Yay!!!
I had a Whipple surgery 9/19/2012 which took out head of my pancreas, half of my stomach, my duodenum, and bile duct. Therefore I have no digestive juices and in order to eat, I need to take prescribed digestive enzymes. I am prescribed Zen-pep. Pancreatic cancer survivors sometimes are prescribed Creon instead.
Since these are Tier 4 and 3 drugs, they are super expensive, like over a thousand dollars monthly even with good insurance. I was paying out of pocket for months and even years, and managed to almost deplete my 401K, until I found out that there was a Financial Assistance coordinator at the hospital where I had my surgery, who works with the pharmaceutical companies to obtain medication.
Zen-pep is made by Activis, a subsidiary of Allergan. I qualified based on my income to receive this drug FREE! I have to fill out paperwork once a year, and the financial coordinator faxes it to Allergan for approval. This drug is a must for me and I cannot eat without it.
My suggestion is to always check with the doctors or pharmaceutical companies to see if there is financial help for medication.
I wish I had more suggestions. Cancer is a tough road, and worrying about money on top of if makes it so much more hard.
M …
My tip is to meet with the social worker at the hospital. As a social worker myself, I know that they have many resources.
When I was diagnosed with cancer and couldn’t work, I met with a social worker at UCSF. She told me about the Medi-Cal program for breast and cervical cancer, local resources for alternative and complementary treatments, and available grants. She even helped me to fill out the paperwork.
One more tip is to talk to the manufacturer if you cannot afford medications. They will sometimes provide discounted products.
L …
CALL NEEDY MEDS … now!
S …
Patients are often so afraid or intimidated or embarrassed to ask. All hospitals and healthcare organizations have a financial negotiation process.
Always track your bills and your estimations of benefits (EOB) from your insurance companies.
This is so difficult to do if one is ill or doesn’t understand this … . especially if you have a secondary insurance policy. Too often you are billed for the full amount or a portion but insurance has NOT been billed (or not been billed correctly) even though the bill says so. This happened to me after my illness too many times.
Ask to not be sent to collections until the bill is straightened out (and take notes who and when you spoke with someone). Sometimes it takes months to get a bill straightened out.
If you are billed for something that your insurance didn’t authorize, find out why. Can you appeal or negotiate?
R …
My first chemo treatments were for lymphoma. The Lymphoma Foundation has limited financial assistance for lymphoma patients.
https://lymphoma.org/learn/supportservices/financialsupport/
After my first round of treatments, many things went wrong in my life and my disability insurance refused to pay me. Then I lost my medical insurance. My hospital had a plan for people with no money or insurance that covered everything … treatments, doctor visits, medication, etc. I had to pay them $4 a month for this plan. I had to fill out their forms and qualify. Then they gave me a card just like an insurance card.
L …
Speaking with hospitals is HUGE. I have multiple payment plans set up, some with monthly payments as low as $40/month. Communication is key with them.
Along that same line, speak with creditors and/or utility providers. Believe it or not, they do have compassion. It might take speaking to a few different people to find it, but they are willing to defer payment, set up payment plans, etc.
Look for local resources. I have a local Breast Cancer Association that will help cover certain expenses; basically anything NOT medically related. I have sent them my bills for local grocery stores and restaurants. They also give out free wigs, head coverings, send cheerful cards, have support group meetings (virtually via Zoom now), offer a maid service, and so much more.
Final tip… DON’T BE AFRIAD TO ASK OR SEEK HELP. This is why these organizations are here. There is no pride in Cancer, except in beating it.
J …
Talk to the social worker and financial counselor at your hospital.
After my most recent and most difficult and invasive surgery of 14 years with several cancer recurrences, someone stopped by my room one day to talk about financial assistance programs I might be eligible for. I had not slept well the night before and was trying to nap so told her I would talk to her later.
When I called the next day to ask her about possibilities, she offered to do all the paperwork to help me apply for both hospital and state aid. Both were extremely helpful and saved me thousands of dollars.
There is help when we are willing to ask and actually receive it.
T …
From our experience with trying to manage our son’s treatment bills, I would suggest that you match your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) with the hospital, clinic, pharmacy, radiology bill. If they do not match, then don’t pay and dispute the charge. Let your insurance company know and they will have to research it from their end too. I have found it is better to delay paying a bill until the amount is corrected. It is far harder (sometimes impossible) to get a refund from the hospital for an overcharged amount. We unfortunately gave up trying with our hospital as I was too exhausted to fight at the time.
Another tactic I have used when trying to help another family is calling ‘on their behalf’. More often than not, the insurance company or hospital makes the assumption you are acting in a legal capacity and will resolve the issue in no time!
K …
The things that have helped us on our journey have been the following:
Corporate Angel Network – their name says it all! Ask commercial airlines for patient accommodations. With CAN, we always had a to have a back-up flight so we would try to get the cancellation fees waived when we cancelled the flight. I found Delta to be the most accommodating. With Southwest, you can also reschedule always without cancellation fees. I also believe SW has a program for cancer patients. The credits generally have to be used in a year
Applying for financial assistance at the hospitals. Our hospital had two separate programs, one through the social workers and the other through financial assistance.
Triage Cancer resources – invaluable
Air BnB had a program to support cancer patients and their caregivers when traveling for care. It was just starting when I used it. I’m not sure where it stands now.
When we traveled to MSK, there was a week or so when I didn’t have a place to stay as the caregiver. I signed-up at a local yoga studio where I could use the showers (and take a class or two). I was sleeping in the hospital room, so that was all I needed.
ACS Hope Lodge
The state medicare representative.
I hope that helps. It’s such a challenging topic. We were very lucky.
L …
Nancy Novack says
I had a client who received a huge bill for her cancer treatment. She was a student and had no money. I suggested that she go the Financial Services person at the hospital with her bill in hand and simply say, “I don’t have the funds to pay this fee. I want to honor the bill. I will pay you $5 a month for the rest of my life.”
And, surprisingly, the financial director said, “And I honor your creativity and commitment. That will be fine with the hospital. Good work.”
Nancy Novack