Survivors Blog October 1, 2012- Practical help with medical bill day.

If  you have read my previous blog entries you will know that I am tackling the story of my Cancer Diagnosis from my perspective today and my perspective of past events. I will continue the story of my diagnosis and survival on another day when I feel more up to writing. I do feel a little better every day. Today, I am just a little wiped out from my busy weekend. Probably even more tired than usual because today I tackled the medical bills.

As a cancer survivor you will find that you could work on keeping up with medical bills, insurance denials, provider forms and various other mountains of paper every day and still never catch up completely. This week I had all the usual stuff plus an appeal to the SC Insurance Board to force my insurance company to pay for one of my pre chemotherapy tests. Plus there was also a threat of garnishment from the ambulance company because the insurance claims they paid them and the ambulance company swears no one paid them?

Basically, if you let it get to you - you would be stressed out and pissed off all the time!

So here are a few things I have learned about dealing with all these companies who want more money and time than you will be able to give them in this lifetime. These folks can't pay your bills for you but, they sure can help you keep track of everything. Please remember, I am not offering you legal information or financial advice- these are just some common sense tips that helped me. 

 Ask for help

I am an extremely independant person. My Aunt always says we come from "Independant Pioneer Stock" and she is right. I was raised around women who supported themselves, ran their own businesses and didn't ask anyone for anything. It was very humbling to ask for any help at all.
However, when you get hit with something as financially devastating as Cancer is - you need to explore your options ASAP. So here are a few people who are dedicated to help you unravel the billing questions:

A. As embarassing and humbling as this is- your first line of help is usually asking a family member or friend to advocate for you. They can take notes, keep a calendar of visits and intercede with the creditors until you feel well enough to do so.

B. If you have insurance,ask your insurance company to provide you with a personal "Case Worker" - this person is usually a Nurse who is paid by your insurance company to advocate for you on any number of issues.

C. If you are hospitalized- ask for a " Case Worker" or " Social Services" representative. Like the Case Worker from your insurance company, this person is paid to help you with a number of issues relating to your illness, including referring you to people who can help you decipher the bills.

D. The American Cancer Society is also helpful. They have a number of counselors on staff and many volunteers who have been where you are. You just need to ask what resources they have to help you.

E. I also found that the Cancer Center I go to has a person who specializes in financial services for patients. She actually helped me to find a "scholarship" that would pay for part of the infusion treatment I needed each time I took chemo. She also found me a fund that would pay for part of the chemo that was not covered by my insurance.

F. Volunteers- every cancer center has a number of volunteers who are there to help you. They cannot offer you financial advice or help with organization. They can however direct you to resources in the Cancer community that are designed to help.


Bottom line- don't let all of this stress you! Your job is to remain as focused on healing and survival as you can.