money or health care benefits for breadwinner who has been stricken with cancer?

Question

working mom with disabled husband has been stricken with pancreatic cancer that has spread to colon. she has no sick days from work - husband gets ssi and is not able to work. she has no health benefits from her job but is receiving Cobra - which is not enough for her chemo and radiation. please if someone knows of a means of help, please answer.

Answer 1

Since she isn't going to be able to work, she will be eligible for SSI and Medicaid. Since your husband already gets SSI, financially you will qualify. I think they can move this faster because of the situation. If they say they can't call your state representative. Keep good notes as to who you talked to, when, and what was said. They actually can be quite amazing and taking care of problems. It doesn't matter which party the representative is or if you are the same party. Just use the insurance while she has it and when she gets Medicaid give them the card/information. It is possible that where she is getting treatment that they would not take Medicaid. Then you need to use doctors/hospitals, etc that accept Medicaid. Call a social worker at a local hospital. They know all this type of information and can give you guidance on what is available. Tell them about out of time at work and if their are other resources. Some employers allow other employees to give part of their time to the sick employee. Check with Personnel at the place she works.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to hear of this situation. Unfortunately, I am unaware of a truly good solution. What you can try is:

do you qualify for Medicaid? You'll basically have to go bankrupt to do so in all likelihood.

What are the charity guidelines for any hospitals that are providing services? Especially if you can use a county hospital, I think they'd have to work with you.

Will your doctors write off any charges that insurance doesn't cover? Will they take a substantially smaller amount if you pay at the time of service?

Are there any religious groups you belong to that have any kind of medical help programs?

Are there any medical training facilities in your area where they likely charge less for treatments? (In Texas, for example, when I lived there they had clinics associated with medical schools and the charges were sliding-fee-scale which really dropped the cost down).

Are there any medical charity groups in your area? You might call your local reference librarian or the library of a local hospital to find that out.

Can you reduce OTHER expenses? Possibly Consumer Credit Counseling Services can help with that. You probably will qualify for assistance from a food bank. I'd not be surprised if you could get assistance with utilities through the utility, etc.

Though you're not working, does your HR (Human Resources) department have any bright ideas? Also sometimes it's allowed for other employees to CONTRIBUTE SICK DAYS OR VACATION DAYS TO YOU.

Hospitals normally have social workers who should know the system. The chaplain maybe can help. If you have a pastor, he might be able to do something.

I wish you both well.

Answer 3

If the husband gets SSI, he may be entitled to Medicare or Medicaid.

Try calling your local DHS office, or the SS Administration. Also check with local (big) cancer hospitals. Sometimes they have a program that will help with these expenses.

Answer 4

Have her contact the cancer society they can help her