Reducing external stressors when you are dealing with this type of condition is very important. Knowing how you will pay for your cancer treatment will relieve a lot of stress. Here are some ideas you may want to explore to help you feel financially taken care of during your journey back to health. The bottom of the page has a few ways you can save money on your everyday spending which also is a great help!
Ways to replace your income during Cancer treatment
TEMPORARY DISABILITY – SDI STATE DISABILITY INSURANCE
If your employer has been paying into this program for you, you may be eligible for temporary disability or SDI. This will vary by state, ask your employer or search SDI or state disability insurance in your state. The program can pay 60-70% of your salary for up to a year. Apply online and have your doctor support your request which is easily done online as well. Processing time in California is 14 days and payouts are made onto a debit card which is sent automatically. You can use the debit card or make online transfers to your bank account.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
Based on your diagnosis, if you are expected to be disabled for one year or more, you can apply for social security disability. This is a longer-term federal program that can offer other benefits such as secondary insurance via Medicare or Medicaid. These can act as secondary insurance and help pay for your cancer treatment. I did not explore this option but it may be the way to go for some.
PAID FAMILY LEAVE
If your caretaker is forced to stop working as well, they can apply for Paid Family Leave. This program will pay them up the 70% of their salary while they help you. This required doctors to fill out a few forms but the application process is rather straightforward. I believe the program can support your caretaker for up to a year but this may vary per state. You also want to check with your employer as they may limit the length of Paid Family Leave they allow.
Additional funding
Let’s face it, you do not know how long you will not be able to work. You will also going to be faced with additional expenses. Copays for doctor visits, tests, and scans tend to add up pretty quick. And even if you manage to get on some form of disability, you may need some extra support to cover the missing 30-40% of your salary not paid out by the program. Here are additional ways to pay for your cancer treatment.
LIFE INSURANCE POLICY
If you have a life insurance policy, contact your agent and ask them about releasing some of your death benefit to help cover some of your expenses. Some policies will allow you to take out up to 50% of your death benefit when diagnosed with a serious illness. Cancer will usually qualify. They will often require you to authorize the release of your medical records and the process may take some time but it is well worth it. Check with your CPA, often these types of payouts are non-taxable as long as the policy is kept active.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
You may want to look into opening a GoFundMe campaign. This offers a way for family members, friends, and anyone really to donate to help pay for your cancer treatment and support you on your path to recovery. The process is simple and free. Set a financial goal that is based on your needs (medical bills, additional expenses, and possible income support for example). Share your story with pictures and you are done. You can then share the link to your GoFundMe page with anyone. Once you start receiving donations, you can set up withdrawals to your bank account. Once they kick in, withdrawals to your account are made daily. You can easily add updates to your page which will also be sent to your donors.
HELP FROM DRUG MANUFACTURERS
While the following is not exactly a way to pay for your cancer treatment, it is a way to lessen the cost of your treatment.
If you are doing chemo, there is a strong chance you will be prescribed an additional injection called Neupogen. The purpose of this drug is to help your body make additional white blood cells – boost your immune system. One of the side effects of chemo can be a drastic drop in white blood cells. When the pharmacy called me to set up payment for Neupogen, I was told my copay was going to be $400. With 4 rounds of chemo, this copay alone was going to be quite expensive. It turns out the manufacturer has a copay assistance program, all you have to do is call and sign up. This brought my copay down from $400 to $5 – amazing. So always ask if there is a copay assistance program for drugs you are being prescribed. Chances are you can drastically lower high copays.
Neupogen copay assistance:
Contact Amgen directly at (866) 657 8371 this has allowed me to save over $400 in copays. All you have to do is apply. There are no specific eligibility requirements as far as I was able to tell. I did not need to submit proof of income either.
Simple ways to save money on everyday spending
The Best Cashback Site
Get Discounts or Cash Back when you shop online. By now you have probably heard of Rakuten formerly known as Ebates. This site is free to join and use. It offers its members exclusive discounts and cashback offers when they use the site to shop. They have deals with over 10.000 stores so you are bound to find a great deal. I use it to get cashback at Vitacost, which is where I buy all my supplements and a lot of organic pantry items. It is very easy and they send me cashback to my PayPal account every few months. So far I have earned $990 in Cashback, granted I have been a member for a few years but that is close to $1.000 in savings for things I buy all the time.
Save on Gas
One thing we did not expect was all the driving we would have to do. We went to see many specialists, alternative doctors. Most of them, including the university hospital I went to in Los Angeles were over an hour away from our home. An easy way to save on gas regardless of where you live in the USA is by using an app call GetUpside. When you open the app, it will search for deals on gas close to your location. These are discounts exclusive to GetUpside users. Often I will get a discount of 15cents/gal. It might not seem like much but why pay more if you don’t have to?
Sign up for GetUpside here and use invite code JULIEN9592 you will receive a one-time extra 15c/gal discount in addition to existing discounts. This could mean that your first fill discount could be as much as 30c/gal. NICE!
I Pay Less Than $20 Per Month On My Phone Bill
How much is your phone bill every month? I end up paying less than $200 per year on my phone bill.
I use TELLO.
I have been using Tello since 2018 and pay $20 per month. All plans include unlimited talk and text, you pick how much data you want. After you use up your dedicated data, you still have unlimited data but at a slower speed. The major highlights are:
No contract, no fees
Flexible plans from $5 to $39
Unlimited text in any plan