Financial Assistance

spunky56
spunky56 Member Posts: 12
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
My treatments are over, insurance has paid what they will. But my 15% is a big chunk as I had to have treatment for a little over a year. Now I need to deal with the bills. I had to go on unemployment during most of treatment due to the travel issue I had. Then when I had a nice job, they "restructured" and I was again out.

Are there any grants or groups that will help with the bills after the fact? I tried DSHS early on and they said no as I needed to be unable to work for at least a year to be eligible. And I was capible of working at least PT.

Comments

  • roseann4
    roseann4 Member Posts: 992 Member
    #2
    Contact the providers.
    I think there is information on this site for financial help on the home page. Recently, my brother-in-law was hospitalized and due to losing his job he lost his health insurance. He made arrangements with the hospital to pay $20 a month on a $20,000 bill. Tell them what you can afford and they may accept it. Good luck.

    Roseann
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    #3
    roseann4 said:

    Contact the providers.
    I think there is information on this site for financial help on the home page. Recently, my brother-in-law was hospitalized and due to losing his job he lost his health insurance. He made arrangements with the hospital to pay $20 a month on a $20,000 bill. Tell them what you can afford and they may accept it. Good luck.

    Roseann

    That's what we did too. We
    That's what we did too. We managed to pay for most of our share but the radiation was too much. So we set up a payment plan and paid monthly until it was paid off. It was billed through the hospital. It was odd because the insurance paid for the chemo totally. When I talked to the insurance company they said it was because of how it was billed.
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #4
    Marcia527 said:

    That's what we did too. We
    That's what we did too. We managed to pay for most of our share but the radiation was too much. So we set up a payment plan and paid monthly until it was paid off. It was billed through the hospital. It was odd because the insurance paid for the chemo totally. When I talked to the insurance company they said it was because of how it was billed.

    So unfair, Marcia
    I would contact the hospital and demand that they rebill your radiation properly so that you could at least receive a refund. I would explain you paid the bill, but found out, due to improper billing, you paid a balance that was covered by insurance. This happened to me and although it took some fighting, to correct someone else's mistake, on my part, I was able to reverse the problem. These things can occur for a number of reasons. The most common is the person doing the billing not fimiliar with a particular Insurance Co, be it that she is new to the field, didn't watch her coding, misread the procedure, etc. I am very careful when anyone tells me I owe any portion of a bill. If I do, I pay it, but I do not pay for other people's mistakes or ignorance. Sometimes Insurance policies are confusing, but we need to know what we are entitled to and what our premiums are paying for. If your Ins paid for chemo, I'll guarentee that Rads was also a covered expense. Good luck if you decide to look into it.
    As far as bills after treatment....most places will award restitution back up to 12 months if they help. Best thing I can think to do is call your local ACS and ask to be put in touch with a patient advocate. They should be able to help with financial issues.
    ♥Pammy
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    #5
    Akiss4me said:

    So unfair, Marcia
    I would contact the hospital and demand that they rebill your radiation properly so that you could at least receive a refund. I would explain you paid the bill, but found out, due to improper billing, you paid a balance that was covered by insurance. This happened to me and although it took some fighting, to correct someone else's mistake, on my part, I was able to reverse the problem. These things can occur for a number of reasons. The most common is the person doing the billing not fimiliar with a particular Insurance Co, be it that she is new to the field, didn't watch her coding, misread the procedure, etc. I am very careful when anyone tells me I owe any portion of a bill. If I do, I pay it, but I do not pay for other people's mistakes or ignorance. Sometimes Insurance policies are confusing, but we need to know what we are entitled to and what our premiums are paying for. If your Ins paid for chemo, I'll guarentee that Rads was also a covered expense. Good luck if you decide to look into it.
    As far as bills after treatment....most places will award restitution back up to 12 months if they help. Best thing I can think to do is call your local ACS and ask to be put in touch with a patient advocate. They should be able to help with financial issues.
    ♥Pammy

    It wasn't that much anyway
    It wasn't that much anyway and way too much time has passed. Sometimes it's not worth the effort. What I don't like is making the patient keep track of bills and costs when we've got chemo brain.

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