FINANCIAL DISTRESS WITH CANCER
FINANCIAL DISTRESS WITH
CANCER
MARC MCDOWELL LCSW, ACSW
THE REALITY OF RESEARCHING
FINANCIAL ISSUES
•
Financial issues can be complex, individual and frustrating.
•
Troubleshooting financial issues can be an exercise in patience.
•
There is no one size fits all.
•
Mastering financial issues will require a great deal of homework and
networking.
•
More than once you will likely receive bad or out of date information.
•
Google is both the best and worst way to search for resources.
MEDICAL BANKRUPCY STATS 2021
•
A
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a
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t
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o
n
s
i
d
e
r
a
b
l
e
e
x
p
e
n
s
e
.
COMMON TREATMENT-RELATED
EXPENSES
•
Deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance amounts
•
Comfort for cosmetic side effects (e.g., wigs, makeup,
prosthetics, specialty clothing)
•
Caregiving costs
•
Long-term or home health care costs
•
Psychosocial care
•
Complementary therapies (e.g., yoga, massage, Reiki,
meditation, etc.)
•
Transportation costs related to traveling to and from treatment
•
Lodging costs
•
Child-care above normal expenses due to time away for
treatment
POTENTIAL CONTACTS TO DISCUSS
YOUR EXPENSES WITH
•
Doctors
•
Nurses
•
Medical Social Workers
•
Medical Case Managers
•
Insurance Case
M
anagers
•
Navigators
•
Hospital billing departments
•
Patient advocacy organizations
•
Employer’s human resources department
•
Insurance company
•
State insurance commissioner
•
Spiritual advisor
•
Community leader
SOURCES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FOR PEOPLE WITH CANCER
•
Personal Financial Planning
•
Health Insurance
•
Employer Sponsored Disability Programs
•
Government Programs
•
Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs
•
Assistance from Charitable Organizations
•
Co-pay Relief Programs
•
Fundraising
PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING
•
A financial planner may be able to help you take control of your
finances and plan for your financial future.
•
Look for free or low-cost financial planning talks sponsored by
organizations such as AARP or by investment management
companies.
•
You can deduct unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5%
of your adjusted gross income (AGI).
•
Loss of income?
•
Develop Strategies to Pay Down Debt
HEALTH INSURANCE
•
EMPLOYER SPONSORED
•
INDIVIDUALLY PURCHASED
•
GOVERNMENT SPONSORED
–
Medicare
–
Medicare Replacement Policies
–
Medicaid
USING YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE
•
Be a Good Consumer
•
Have the Right Insurance.
•
Go to In-Network Providers When Possible.
•
Make Sure Health Care Providers Have Up-to-Date Information.
•
Get Necessary Pre-authorizations.
•
Discuss Costs With Your Health Care Team Before Treatment.
•
Review Bills for Errors
•
Become Aware of Appeal Process For Denied Claims
•
Negotiate With Health Care Providers.
•
Keep Track of and Leverage
Y
our Out-of-Pocket Maximum. .
•
Be Aware of Balance Billing.
THE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE
MARKETPLACE
•
A
resource for individuals, families, and small businesses.
•
C
ompare health insurance plans for coverage and affordability.
•
Get answers to questions about your health care insurance.
•
F
ind out if you are eligible for tax credits for private insurance or health
programs like Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
•
E
nroll in a health insurance plan that meets your needs.
ONLINE: Healthcare.gov.
TELEPHONE: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at:
1
-
8
0
0
-
3
1
8
-
2
5
9
6
(
T
T
Y
:
1
-
8
5
5
-
8
8
9
-
4
3
2
5
)
EMPLOYER SPONSORED DISABILITY
PROGRAMS
•
FMLA
•
SHORT TERM DISABILITY
•
LONG TERM DISABILITY
•
CANCER POLICIES
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
•
Medicare Savings Programs
•
Medicaid
•
Social Security Disability
•
ADA Work Protections
•
Project Vote Smart (
www.votesmart.org
or
888-VOTE-SMART)
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
•
If considering to apply, discuss with your physician first.
•
1
3
.
2
1
K
i
d
n
e
y
s
,
a
d
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o
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e
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s
-
c
a
r
c
i
n
o
m
a
.
A. Inoperable, unresectable, or recurrent.
OR
B. With metastases to or beyond the regional lymph nodes.
•
An average of 65% of Social Security Disability (SSD) applications
are initially denied.
•
Using secondary Vendors and Attorneys
•
Waiting period of 2 years until you receive Medicare.
PHARMACEUTICAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS
ASSISTANCE FROM CHARITABLE
ORGANIZATIONS
•
American Cancer Society:
http://www.cancer.org
•
CancerCare:
http://www.cancercare.org
•
Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition
http://www.cancerfac.org
•
My Good Days:
https://www.mygooddays.org
•
Pan Foundation:
https://fundfinder.panfoundation.org/
•
Patient Advocate Foundation:
http://www.patientadvocate.org
•
Triage Cancer:
http://www.triagecancer.org
•
United Way:
http://www.unitedway.org
or call “211”
CO-PAY RELIEF PROGRAMS
FUNDRAISING
Every year more than 250,000 Americans resort to
crowdfunding
on
GoFundMe to help them with medical bill payments. That makes for 1 in 3
campaigns.
Unfortunately,
90%
of GoFundMe campaigns fail to reach their goal.
QUESTIONS
•
American Cancer Society:
http://www.cancer.org
•
CancerCare:
http://www.cancercare.org
•
Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition
http://www.cancerfac.org
•
My Good Days:
https://www.mygooddays.org
•
Pan Foundation:
https://fundfinder.panfoundation.org/
•
Patient Advocate Foundation:
http://www.patientadvocate.org
•
Triage Cancer:
http://www.triagecancer.org
•
United Way:
http://www.unitedway.org
or call “211”
Financial distress is a common issue for cancer patients but seeking sources of financial assistance and discussing expenses with potential contacts can provide relief. Learn about common treatment-related expenses and the reality of researching financial issues to better manage your finances while dealing with cancer.
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Presentation Transcript
FINANCIAL DISTRESS WITH CANCER MARC MCDOWELL LCSW, ACSW
THE REALITY OF RESEARCHING FINANCIAL ISSUES Financial issues can be complex, individual and frustrating. Troubleshooting financial issues can be an exercise in patience. There is no one size fits all. Mastering financial issues will require a great deal of homework and networking. More than once you will likely receive bad or out of date information. Google is both the best and worst way to search for resources. Triage Cancer http://www.triagecancer.org is the best resource I have found.
MEDICAL BANKRUPCY STATS 2021 Americans spend an average of $5,000 a year on out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Almost 60% of US adults have had medical debt at some point in their life. 70% of Americans with medical bills had to cut their food expenses to avoid bankruptcy. Two-thirds of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills. 20% of medical bankruptcy filers are in the 55+ age group. Almost half of those who filed for medical bankruptcy cite hospital bills as their most considerable expense.
COMMON TREATMENT-RELATED EXPENSES Deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance amounts Comfort for cosmetic side effects (e.g., wigs, makeup, prosthetics, specialty clothing) Caregiving costs Long-term or home health care costs Psychosocial care Complementary therapies (e.g., yoga, massage, Reiki, meditation, etc.) Transportation costs related to traveling to and from treatment Lodging costs Child-care above normal expenses due to time away for treatment
POTENTIAL CONTACTS TO DISCUSS YOUR EXPENSES WITH Doctors Nurses Medical Social Workers Medical Case Managers Insurance Case Managers Navigators Hospital billing departments Patient advocacy organizations Employer s human resources department Insurance company State insurance commissioner Spiritual advisor Community leader
SOURCES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR PEOPLE WITH CANCER Personal Financial Planning Health Insurance Employer Sponsored Disability Programs Government Programs Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs Assistance from Charitable Organizations Co-pay Relief Programs Fundraising
PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING A financial planner may be able to help you take control of your finances and plan for your financial future. Look for free or low-cost financial planning talks sponsored by organizations such as AARP or by investment management companies. You can deduct unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Loss of income? Develop Strategies to Pay Down Debt
HEALTH INSURANCE EMPLOYER SPONSORED INDIVIDUALLY PURCHASED GOVERNMENT SPONSORED Medicare Medicare Replacement Policies Medicaid
USING YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE Be a Good Consumer Have the Right Insurance. Go to In-Network Providers When Possible. Make Sure Health Care Providers Have Up-to-Date Information. Get Necessary Pre-authorizations. Discuss Costs With Your Health Care Team Before Treatment. Review Bills for Errors Become Aware of Appeal Process For Denied Claims Negotiate With Health Care Providers. Keep Track of and Leverage Your Out-of-Pocket Maximum. . Be Aware of Balance Billing.
THE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE MARKETPLACE A resource for individuals, families, and small businesses. Compare health insurance plans for coverage and affordability. Get answers to questions about your health care insurance. Find out if you are eligible for tax credits for private insurance or health programs like Medicaid or the Children s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Enroll in a health insurance plan that meets your needs. ONLINE: Healthcare.gov. TELEPHONE: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325)
EMPLOYER SPONSORED DISABILITY PROGRAMS FMLA SHORT TERM DISABILITY LONG TERM DISABILITY CANCER POLICIES
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS Medicare Savings Programs Medicaid Social Security Disability ADA Work Protections Project Vote Smart (www.votesmart.org or 888-VOTE-SMART)
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY If considering to apply, discuss with your physician first. 13.21 Kidneys, adrenal glands, or ureters- carcinoma. A. Inoperable, unresectable, or recurrent. OR B. With metastases to or beyond the regional lymph nodes. An average of 65% of Social Security Disability (SSD) applications are initially denied. Using secondary Vendors and Attorneys Waiting period of 2 years until you receive Medicare.
PHARMACEUTICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
ASSISTANCE FROM CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org CancerCare: http://www.cancercare.org Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition http://www.cancerfac.org My Good Days: https://www.mygooddays.org Pan Foundation: https://fundfinder.panfoundation.org/ Patient Advocate Foundation: http://www.patientadvocate.org Triage Cancer: http://www.triagecancer.org United Way: http://www.unitedway.org or call 211
FUNDRAISING Every year more than 250,000 Americans resort to crowdfunding on GoFundMe to help them with medical bill payments. That makes for 1 in 3 campaigns. Unfortunately, 90% of GoFundMe campaigns fail to reach their goal.
QUESTIONS American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org CancerCare: http://www.cancercare.org Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition http://www.cancerfac.org My Good Days: https://www.mygooddays.org Pan Foundation: https://fundfinder.panfoundation.org/ Patient Advocate Foundation: http://www.patientadvocate.org Triage Cancer: http://www.triagecancer.org United Way: http://www.unitedway.org or call 211
