Thinking about money

When you’re diagnosed with cancer, money is usually not the first thing that comes to mind You might not want to think about money right now, but it could become a problem. Some people must work out money issues before they can even start treatment. For others, it becomes a problem after treatment begins. Either way, it takes time and energy to manage your medical bills, insurance, and finances when you have cancer.

Financial resources are available to help people with cancer deal with the mounting costs that come with this disease. These resources can be health insurance, government programs, disability benefits, aid from voluntary organizations, and living benefits from life insurance policies, including viaticals (these will be explained later on). Even if you have health insurance, you will soon find out that it doesn’t cover everything. And even if you are well-insured, cancer can cause financial problems.

If you have no health insurance, it can be really scary. But there are some other options you might want to think about.

Here we will cover:

• Private health insurance
• Government-funded insurance plans
• Options if you are uninsured
• Financial issues and possible sources of help
• Other resources

Insurance options began changing quickly when the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in March 2010, and most of its requirements should be in place as of 2014. At that point, there will be more safeguards for the person with cancer. But even after that, the health care landscape may still be shifting for some time. Call us anytime at 1-800-227-2345 for the most up-to-date information.