Support for Young Adults with Cancer
Financial Planning
You’ve just received a cancer diagnosis, so you’re focused on saving your life. The last thing you want to think about may be what it will cost. The financial aspect of cancer, however, can have a huge impact on your overall health, happiness and well-being during your cancer journey. Feeling confident about your finances can help you tackle your treatment wholeheartedly.
Your cancer-related expenses can add up quickly, so it’s vital to talk to the members of your health care team about the potential costs of your cancer care soon after diagnosis. The financial staff at your doctor’s office understands that treatment can be expensive, so don’t be embarrassed to bring it up.
Financial Challenges
As a young adult cancer survivor, you are at a critical phase of your life. And, depending on when you are diagnosed, you may need to take a break in your education or career, which will limit your income. Although it is daunting, it helps to know the following long-range consequences that are common for young adult cancer survivors:
- More likely to declare bankruptcy than older adults
- Have larger debt loads from student loans, buying homes or starting businesses
- May go without health insurance or opt for high-deductible health insurance
- May be reliant on a parent’s plan or have opted for bare-bones coverage after age 26
- Likely to face a loss of income and employer-provided health insurance during treatment, limiting the ability to pay for treatment
Before you become totally overwhelmed, know that there are hundreds of resources that provide financial assistance in a variety of categories, including childcare, personal items (wigs, mastectomy bras, ostomy supplies, etc.), counseling services, legal help, wish fulfillment and transportation.
Financial Assistance
Start by considering these suggestions:
- Ask your medical team for a referral to case managers, social workers, advocates, financial counselors and patient navigators.
- Check if your hospital oncology team has a patient advocate or navigator program that you can get assistance from early on
- Ask the hospital or treatment center if they offer a payment plan or financial assistance programs.
- Consider hiring a health care advocate, also called a patient advocate, medical negotiator or medical billing advocate. These professionals can find mistakes on medical bills and negotiate lower fees on your behalf. The fee for their help is often a percentage of the amount the patient advocate saves you.
- Contact national disease and patient advocacy nonprofits that can connect you to an advocate who serves patients at no cost.
- Reach out to advocacy groups and other nonprofit organizations who can point you toward sources of financial assistance.
- Investigate whether declaring bankruptcy is an option.
- Ask the human resources department through your employer if you qualify for short-term or long-term disability benefits.
If you lose health insurance through your employer because you need to stop working, ask your human resources department for information on applying for The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which can offer up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period. You may also be eligible for COBRA, which allows eligible employees, spouses and dependents to continue their group health insurance for a limited time after a “qualifying event” causes them to lose coverage. A cancer diagnosis should be considered a qualifying event.
If you are under 26, you can usually be added to your parent’s plan. When a parent applies for a new plan in the Marketplace, they can include you on their application if they plan to claim you as their tax dependent. If you are already on your parent’s Marketplace plan, you can stay covered on their plan through December 31 of the year you turn 26. If you find out you carry a genetic mutation that increases your risk for inherited cancers, you may want to consider prophylactic treatment such as surgery, radiation therapy or hormone therapy while you are still on your parent’s plan.
If you’re still in school, you may be able to enroll in a student health plan and meet the requirement for having coverage under the health care law.
If you have a low income, you may qualify for free or low-cost coverage using Social Security Disability Income and Medicaid insurance.
What if I don't have Insurance?
If you’re diagnosed with cancer and are uninsured, underinsured or not on your parent’s plan, it is not too late to find a plan to cover your treatment. Do not put off treatment because you don’t have insurance or think you can’t get it. Steps to take:
- Ask your hospital’s billing or financial department if they offer charity care or self-pay services, which is discounted care for uninsured or underinsured patients.
- Ask your oncologist if you’re eligible to enroll in a clinical trial that’s investigating a new treatment for your cancer type.
- Look for a patient assistance program through the pharmaceutical company that makes the drugs on your treatment plan. They sometimes provide drugs for free or at a lower cost.
- Look into nonprofit organizations who help people with the type of cancer you have.
- Check with your local Department of Social Services to see if they help pay for food, housing or other costs associated with cancer treatment.
- Go to HealthCare.gov to find health insurance through your state’s Marketplace.
