Cancer patient worried about financial standings after extensive treatment?
A dear friend of ours has stomach cancer and is worried about the debt he will leave for his wife once he is gone. (there is a very slim chance he will survive this, it is stage 4 cancer) His wife is obsessed with not being in debt, has skimped on his treatment and medications, and has gone into a state of panic about saving every dime she can. As his friends we could give two hoot about the financial aspect and just want to see our friend survive as long as possible with the best care possible along with the best quality of life. All these financial worries have stressed him out and he gets sicker by the day, and now thinks he is not worth the cost of this treatment, and through it all still loves his wife dearly. (amazing) Is there any legitimate legal way for this man's wife to have their assets put into a separate account so that the expense of his hospital bills won't deplete their life savings? They have health insurance which will cover approximately 1 million dollars in cancer treatment, but they have already used approximately 25% of that plan, they also have a supplement insurance that has paid approx $20,000 towards expenses.
Cancer - 2 Answers
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1 :
It's hard to believe it will cost more than a million dollars for normal treatment unless he is getting bone marrow grafts or something. Maybe seriously consider getting treated in another country such as Mexico or Eastern Europe where the same thing is far less expensive. If he is stage 4 and not much chance to survive I would decline "standard" treatment and pursue alternative treatments at least to keep him comfortable - at least he won't be getting tortured by chemotherapy and whatnot and who knows how long he might live. Best luck.
2 :
First of all, some people deal with these things differently than others. She may just be projecting her fear of loosing him onto the bills. Skimping on his meds, though - you should write a note to his doctor about that anonymously. The doc can probably help. Have her check out helpingpatients.org - it helps with costs of medicine. I have cancer and my medical bills have hit the roof. We called a debt counselor for advice on what to do. She said that medical bills don't really "count" on your credit - so as long as she makes some kind of payment arrangement with the hospitals for now to keep his treatments coming (don't want to stop paying until he is done with treatments) she can stop paying once all that is done - if she wants to buy a car or house or anything, she just has to say it was medical and they can't count that against you. It even shows in a seperate place on your credit report under medical - even if it goes to collections. I have made payment arrangements with all my hospitals (I pay my docs off fist so they keep treating me, plus they are the ones who will be hurt the most by non payment, not a healthcare company that runs 100 hospitals.) They will try to bully her into paying it in two parts, then in 3 parts, then in 4 parts, then in 12 months, but she can tell them WHAT she can do (I never agree to more than $100 a month no matter what the bill is) and that is all she can do - they will take it, trust me. She may have to talk to a supervisor - then when he is well and everything is back to normal, she can stop paying. Also, have them go to the local cancer treatment place and meet with a social worker - she will most likely be free and will be able to tell them what help they can qualify for - it is a pain filling out forms, etc. But we have gotten tons of help from lots of different organizations - she even told me I qualified for social security disability cause I can no longer work and probably won't ever be able to, AND helped me fill out all the forms. I get a monthly check and my son gets a small monthly check. It is about half of what I made when I worked, but it pays the rent every month. Good luck, I hope you can get her calmed down and to see the light - his health is more important than owing people money or not paying bills.
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Title : Cancer patient worried about financial standings after extensive treatment
Description : Cancer patient worried about financial standings after extensive treatment? A dear friend of ours has stomach cancer and is worried about...