No Help
Comments
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I'm so sorry for your situation. I was in a similar situation being too poor for insurance, i was cancer symptomatic for two years before i finally received help from a county fund that paid for my colonoscopy.
After my diagnosis, i was lucky and qualified for medi-cal. There are other resources out there. If i were you, i would quit working immediately, and get on state disability while you apply for medi-cal, and other resources. You probably will not make enough money receiving state disability to not qualify for assistance. I would also contact the American Cancer Association for any resources they are aware of. Also, you can apply for SSA or SSI, and then you should automatically qualify for medi-cal. It's a pain in the buttocks, especially when you're already battling for your life, but we must survive, and fight the beaurocracy as well.
Our situations are absolutely ridiculous in this country with exhorbitant amounts of money.
It makes me so angry i almost don't know what to do about it, but there are things we can do about it. Maybe a little fundraiser can help you.
I don't know what state you're in, but here in California there is a cancer resource center that may be able to refer you to some resources in your state. Here is the number: 213-736-8310.
I hope so much that this helps you!
Many hugs,
Krista0 -
No Help
I apologize in advance because I know this is not the proper place to talk politics and I have criticized others in the past to keep political and religious discussions out of here, but reading this makes me sick. To allow this to happen in America is shameful. As wonderful as our country is, I feel we have to re-examine our priorities to guarantee proper health care for ourselves, and our children and their children. I would write to your local newspaper, call and write to your local radio and TV stations and start making some noise about your situation.0 -
Have you tried the following for help:
County you live in
State you live in
American Cancer Society
Cancer centers like, MD Anderson, Sloan-Kettering, John Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic
Medicare
American Cancer Society
National Institutes of Health
People Living with Cancer - PLWC
There are Non-Profit hospitals that can't turn away patients like the one I attended, City Hospital of Martinsburg, West Virginia http://www.cityhospital.org/0 -
No Helpkristasplace said:I'm so sorry for your situation. I was in a similar situation being too poor for insurance, i was cancer symptomatic for two years before i finally received help from a county fund that paid for my colonoscopy.
After my diagnosis, i was lucky and qualified for medi-cal. There are other resources out there. If i were you, i would quit working immediately, and get on state disability while you apply for medi-cal, and other resources. You probably will not make enough money receiving state disability to not qualify for assistance. I would also contact the American Cancer Association for any resources they are aware of. Also, you can apply for SSA or SSI, and then you should automatically qualify for medi-cal. It's a pain in the buttocks, especially when you're already battling for your life, but we must survive, and fight the beaurocracy as well.
Our situations are absolutely ridiculous in this country with exhorbitant amounts of money.
It makes me so angry i almost don't know what to do about it, but there are things we can do about it. Maybe a little fundraiser can help you.
I don't know what state you're in, but here in California there is a cancer resource center that may be able to refer you to some resources in your state. Here is the number: 213-736-8310.
I hope so much that this helps you!
Many hugs,
Krista
Hello Krista,
Thank you for your advice. I will try the CA phone number. I forgot to add my name to my posting. It's Jeanie. Your ideas were all very good and I have tried them all Because I work for myself as a contracted Medicaid Waiver Provider I stopped working and tried that route but every place I tried for financial assistance required my documented income from last year. Luckily I was able to resume working. I am married and my husband gets a pension of $2000 a month. That alone made me ineligible for any assistance. I am 60 and he is 80 and has disabilities. I've been told to divorce him. If I do that and stop working we will be homeless. Actually we will lose our house if I stop working. He would have to go into an Assisted Living Facility and I would be homeless alone and still if I try to get financial assistance I could be turned down because of the income we have now which isn't much but is apparently too much. It's all very scary trying to make decisions. I paid for my colonoscopy and because I had an EGD at the same time I am in debt for that for around $10,000. I've tried Hill-Burton....rejected. I think I am in an impossible position. The things I might do to get help like stop working and divorce my husband might not work and I have a feeling it might be too late now. But I will follow up on all the leads from the replies I got and it's good to know that you and others cared enough to help me.
Thank you, Jeanie0 -
No Help4law said:No Help
I apologize in advance because I know this is not the proper place to talk politics and I have criticized others in the past to keep political and religious discussions out of here, but reading this makes me sick. To allow this to happen in America is shameful. As wonderful as our country is, I feel we have to re-examine our priorities to guarantee proper health care for ourselves, and our children and their children. I would write to your local newspaper, call and write to your local radio and TV stations and start making some noise about your situation.
Thank you for hitting the nail on the head. It is a political failure because the subject of national health insurance has been out there for a long time and politicians seem to think that people without health insurance don't count in this society. I have tried everything you suggested and they are all good ideas but I have just been ignored or rejected. I'm not a cute little kid or someone from another country with a newsworthy illness so I just don't have a good story. I think that is why I keep being amazed that this is happening to me when the hospitals and doctors are right here but with no insurance and no money their opinion is that I should die. I'm 60 and I've worked all my life and it means nothing. So, yes it is political but I don't think we're going to see any changes soon.0 -
No Helpnudgie said:Have you tried the following for help:
County you live in
State you live in
American Cancer Society
Cancer centers like, MD Anderson, Sloan-Kettering, John Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic
Medicare
American Cancer Society
National Institutes of Health
People Living with Cancer - PLWC
There are Non-Profit hospitals that can't turn away patients like the one I attended, City Hospital of Martinsburg, West Virginia http://www.cityhospital.org/
Thank you for the leads. I have tried most of them including Hill-Burton. I was treated very poorly at the Cleveland Clinic and ended up being rejected because I was $50 over their highest level for financial assistance. To get financial assistance in this country you have to have an income of $13,000 or less. But you gave me some new leads and I will follow them up.
Thank you.
Jeanie0 -
ANOTHER POSSIBILITYKarmaCrone said:No Help
Thank you for the leads. I have tried most of them including Hill-Burton. I was treated very poorly at the Cleveland Clinic and ended up being rejected because I was $50 over their highest level for financial assistance. To get financial assistance in this country you have to have an income of $13,000 or less. But you gave me some new leads and I will follow them up.
Thank you.
Jeanie
Jeanie -
Have you tried the Lance Armstrong Foundation (http://www.livestrong.org)?
Check also with the Colon Club (http://www.colonclub.org),
Colorectal Care Line (CCL) (http://www.colorectalcareline.org)- they do medicaid and/or charity advocacy (phone is 866-657-8634; one of their biggest supporters is AMGEN a major colon cancer chemo manufacturer),
Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) (http://www.ACOR.org),
Colorectal Cancer Coalition (http://www.FIGHTCOLORECTALCANCER.org),
Figgtree Foundation (http//:www.FIGGTREE.com)
Hoping these are helpful.
- SpongeBob0 -
sick of itKarmaCrone said:No Help
Hello Krista,
Thank you for your advice. I will try the CA phone number. I forgot to add my name to my posting. It's Jeanie. Your ideas were all very good and I have tried them all Because I work for myself as a contracted Medicaid Waiver Provider I stopped working and tried that route but every place I tried for financial assistance required my documented income from last year. Luckily I was able to resume working. I am married and my husband gets a pension of $2000 a month. That alone made me ineligible for any assistance. I am 60 and he is 80 and has disabilities. I've been told to divorce him. If I do that and stop working we will be homeless. Actually we will lose our house if I stop working. He would have to go into an Assisted Living Facility and I would be homeless alone and still if I try to get financial assistance I could be turned down because of the income we have now which isn't much but is apparently too much. It's all very scary trying to make decisions. I paid for my colonoscopy and because I had an EGD at the same time I am in debt for that for around $10,000. I've tried Hill-Burton....rejected. I think I am in an impossible position. The things I might do to get help like stop working and divorce my husband might not work and I have a feeling it might be too late now. But I will follow up on all the leads from the replies I got and it's good to know that you and others cared enough to help me.
Thank you, Jeanie
Jeanie, i have been thinking so much about you these last few days, and i keep checking for a post that you have found someone who will help you. It just makes me sick. You were diagnosed a month after me, and i'm almost done with my treatments now, and you haven't even started.
I'm seeing my onc tomorrow, and i'm going to ask him if he knows of any resources that can help. He is a gastroenterology oncologsit, so this disease is his specialty. Plus he is a very compassionate person, and he may know what to do. The Moores Cancer Center here in San Diego is one of the best in the country. They have big donors, with deep pockets. Maybe if we do a little b***ching, we can get some notice.
Don't you dare think that your case isn't special. Just because you're sixty (which isn't old, by the way), doesn't mean we can't get people interested in helping you get treatment.
I will let you know what my onc says tomorrow.
Many hugs,
Krista0 -
No Helpkristasplace said:sick of it
Jeanie, i have been thinking so much about you these last few days, and i keep checking for a post that you have found someone who will help you. It just makes me sick. You were diagnosed a month after me, and i'm almost done with my treatments now, and you haven't even started.
I'm seeing my onc tomorrow, and i'm going to ask him if he knows of any resources that can help. He is a gastroenterology oncologsit, so this disease is his specialty. Plus he is a very compassionate person, and he may know what to do. The Moores Cancer Center here in San Diego is one of the best in the country. They have big donors, with deep pockets. Maybe if we do a little b***ching, we can get some notice.
Don't you dare think that your case isn't special. Just because you're sixty (which isn't old, by the way), doesn't mean we can't get people interested in helping you get treatment.
I will let you know what my onc says tomorrow.
Many hugs,
Krista
Thank you Krista. The problem is I fall between the cracks financially and even though I consider myself to be an educated woman I made a foolish choice to start my own business which meant I couldn't get health insurance because of a pre existing condition instead of working for an agency that would have provided group insurance. In my defense I did not know obesity was a pre existing condition. Again looking back I should have tried harder to lose weight. I did not do myself any favors. I have tried to get hospitals to work with me on payment plans but they will not. I can afford a surgeon but maybe not the treatments and definitely not the surgery or hospital stay. Now the biggest problem is that it has been so long and I am starting to have trouble with pain and extreme fatigue. It is probably too late now to stop the cancer. I know where there are 2 hospitals that take patients under the Hill Burton Act. So far both have rejected me because of my income which is not a lot but is above poverty level. Hill Burton has financial requirements. People think it means free but not so.
But thank you for thinking of me. In Florida there are not a lot of choices.
Jeanie0 -
No Helpunknown said:This comment has been removed by the Moderator
Thank you Babs those are very good ideas. Our house is not paid off and as soon as I can't work any more we will lose it to foreclosure. We did finally get the hospital to take $3000 off the bill. But I found out no hospital is willing to consider a long term payment plan with a cancer patient. Understandable when you wrap your mind around the fact that hospitals are a business and that makes me a very bad risk. I have a kind of a plan but it means I will lose everything and the way I've been feeling I think it is too late for surgery and treatment. I don't want to get morbid but I am still working on the contacts people have given me. My husband who is 80 and disabled has already found a somewhat decent assisted living facility that he can afford on his pension. Of course we can't find homes for our cats. Don't want to think about that. We are kind of prepared for the worst. But I'm glad I finally got the nerve to post my problem on this site because hearing from people who understand and care has helped me feel a little less alone.
Thank you,
Jeanie0 -
No Helpspongebob said:ANOTHER POSSIBILITY
Jeanie -
Have you tried the Lance Armstrong Foundation (http://www.livestrong.org)?
Check also with the Colon Club (http://www.colonclub.org),
Colorectal Care Line (CCL) (http://www.colorectalcareline.org)- they do medicaid and/or charity advocacy (phone is 866-657-8634; one of their biggest supporters is AMGEN a major colon cancer chemo manufacturer),
Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) (http://www.ACOR.org),
Colorectal Cancer Coalition (http://www.FIGHTCOLORECTALCANCER.org),
Figgtree Foundation (http//:www.FIGGTREE.com)
Hoping these are helpful.
- SpongeBob
Thank you, I will follow up on all the leads.0 -
There is help available!KarmaCrone said:No Help
Thank you Babs those are very good ideas. Our house is not paid off and as soon as I can't work any more we will lose it to foreclosure. We did finally get the hospital to take $3000 off the bill. But I found out no hospital is willing to consider a long term payment plan with a cancer patient. Understandable when you wrap your mind around the fact that hospitals are a business and that makes me a very bad risk. I have a kind of a plan but it means I will lose everything and the way I've been feeling I think it is too late for surgery and treatment. I don't want to get morbid but I am still working on the contacts people have given me. My husband who is 80 and disabled has already found a somewhat decent assisted living facility that he can afford on his pension. Of course we can't find homes for our cats. Don't want to think about that. We are kind of prepared for the worst. But I'm glad I finally got the nerve to post my problem on this site because hearing from people who understand and care has helped me feel a little less alone.
Thank you,
Jeanie
Hi Jeanie,
You are in a tough spot, and I'm sure it's very hard to deal with all the financial stuff when you're thinking about staying alive. There is help out there, it's just a matter of how many calls and inquiries you're willing to make. Please call Colorectal Care Line - Patient Advocate Foundation - it's toll free at 866-657-8634. They can offer help and plenty of suggestions. If you are unable to make these calls for whatever reason...enlist help from family and friends.
Please reconsider your plan of foreclosure and losing everything. Seems like that would only make matters worse for you and your husband, and any children you may have. If you own a home, perhaps that is the source you need to help you deal with the medical bills...a good financial / estate planner can help you navigate your way through this. I think Colorectal Care Line can help you with this too. Don't give up!
As for your cats...there are feline rescue organizations out there to help you with that too. A call to your vet or local Petsmart can point you in the right direction.
Again, Jeanie, don't give up...there are lots of people out there who want to help you...you just need to find them and ask....
Good luck!
Katie0 -
Lance Armstrong Foundation
I donated money to the Lance Armstrong Foundation because I was led to believe it would help people in your situation. Please contact them and find out if they can help you. If not, I don't really know how this works but I think that many states have programs for the unisured. I didn't know Florida does not. In Massachusetts, we now have mandatory insurance, but prior to that businesses - of one person or more could get insurance through the chamber of commerce. This probably doesn't help but check it out.
Pam0 -
Check this out....
This is a Florida organization to help uninsured people in need of medical services:
http://www.shepherdshope.org/
Perhaps they can help or suggest a group who can...0 -
Patient Advocate Foundationusakat said:There is help available!
Hi Jeanie,
You are in a tough spot, and I'm sure it's very hard to deal with all the financial stuff when you're thinking about staying alive. There is help out there, it's just a matter of how many calls and inquiries you're willing to make. Please call Colorectal Care Line - Patient Advocate Foundation - it's toll free at 866-657-8634. They can offer help and plenty of suggestions. If you are unable to make these calls for whatever reason...enlist help from family and friends.
Please reconsider your plan of foreclosure and losing everything. Seems like that would only make matters worse for you and your husband, and any children you may have. If you own a home, perhaps that is the source you need to help you deal with the medical bills...a good financial / estate planner can help you navigate your way through this. I think Colorectal Care Line can help you with this too. Don't give up!
As for your cats...there are feline rescue organizations out there to help you with that too. A call to your vet or local Petsmart can point you in the right direction.
Again, Jeanie, don't give up...there are lots of people out there who want to help you...you just need to find them and ask....
Good luck!
Katie
PLEASE CALL THEM!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqqIstOMlhI
Call them toll free at 800-532-5274. They can help you, Jeanie
Let us know how it goes...we do care...0 -
No Helpusakat said:There is help available!
Hi Jeanie,
You are in a tough spot, and I'm sure it's very hard to deal with all the financial stuff when you're thinking about staying alive. There is help out there, it's just a matter of how many calls and inquiries you're willing to make. Please call Colorectal Care Line - Patient Advocate Foundation - it's toll free at 866-657-8634. They can offer help and plenty of suggestions. If you are unable to make these calls for whatever reason...enlist help from family and friends.
Please reconsider your plan of foreclosure and losing everything. Seems like that would only make matters worse for you and your husband, and any children you may have. If you own a home, perhaps that is the source you need to help you deal with the medical bills...a good financial / estate planner can help you navigate your way through this. I think Colorectal Care Line can help you with this too. Don't give up!
As for your cats...there are feline rescue organizations out there to help you with that too. A call to your vet or local Petsmart can point you in the right direction.
Again, Jeanie, don't give up...there are lots of people out there who want to help you...you just need to find them and ask....
Good luck!
Katie
I called the Patient Advocate Foundation and was assigned to a case worker who called me 2 days ago and said she would try to help. I did learn from her that I was right when I decided that quitting my job and divorcing my husband would not help me. Since any agency requesting info for financial aplications requires last years' tax records I would have been accused of fraud. I know this may have worked for others but it won't work for me. So thank you for pointing me in the way of accurate information.
Jeanie0 -
No Helppamness said:Lance Armstrong Foundation
I donated money to the Lance Armstrong Foundation because I was led to believe it would help people in your situation. Please contact them and find out if they can help you. If not, I don't really know how this works but I think that many states have programs for the unisured. I didn't know Florida does not. In Massachusetts, we now have mandatory insurance, but prior to that businesses - of one person or more could get insurance through the chamber of commerce. This probably doesn't help but check it out.
Pam
I have contacted them but have not heard back. Probably they get thousands of requests for help.
Thank you
Jeanie0 -
No HelpKarmaCrone said:No Help
I have contacted them but have not heard back. Probably they get thousands of requests for help.
Thank you
Jeanie
I just wanted to give you a little encouragement; here's my story. I was dx'd 10-07 with Stage IV cc at the age of 46. I was a masters student at the time, living on student loans and child support and my Cobra insurance coverage had run out. No problem, because I was never sick and was supposed to start a new job in Jan. '08. Surprise! I was faced with trying to find a way to get treatment and survive while fighting this nightmare. I live in Texas, which has proven to be a blessing for someone in my situation. The hospital where I received treatment has a charity program which bases your payment for treatment on your financial need. They have written off a lot of my expenses and only request donations if possible. I don't know if anything like this is available in your area, but wanted to mention it so you could check into similar programs at your hospitals.
I had surgery in Oct. and Dec. '07, started FOLFOX in January and finished in June. Currently, I am NED with new scans due in 2 weeks. I want you to know that I hope and pray that you can find a way to get treatment--no one should have to fight to get treated as well as fight the disease. I hope this helps somehow. Keep fighting!
Rebecca0
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