Uninsured Information Resources

[Mitch]

As many of us in the US know, there is a huge health care crisis and many people (especially men 18-35) are without health insurance. Without getting into the politics of any of it, I thought this might be a good place to put out some information and possible resources for people who may think they have symptoms of TC, but are afraid to go to a doctor because they don't have insurance and are afraid of the cost.

A long time ago I posted this link to state and regional sources for indigent health care for people without medical insurance. After reading a few posts of people without insurance, I just wanted to re-post it. It can be a good starting point for people in need of information (some states not only provide better care, but also better information).

http://www.healthlaw.org/state.shtml

If you have any other information, or first-hand experience of dealing with TC or any other medical condition without insurance, I think that may be a huge service to other people reading this forum.

Thanks
Mitch

[Rune]

Great idea, Mitch!

If people could post experiences and information here, I think it would be nice to craft it all into a sticky-thread. It's an important issue for a lot of Americans.

[Scott]

See this link (http://covertheuninsuredweek.org/) for "Cover the Uninsured Week" information.

[Shimmers]

I live in the UK so insurance here is different but I wanted to recommend an insurance product called Critical Illness. Does this exist in the states? Although cancer survivors are exempt for this, it is worthwhile looking at for parners or other family members. We are currently working with one of the top people in the country, who I also know personally from a past chapter of my life when I worked in the area of critical illness, and can highly recommend him both both non cancer patients and cancer patients looking for insurance in the future. His name is John Joseph and his website is www.jjfs.com

[Coach Rak]

i am an insurance agent for Mutual of Omaha and i do sell and can give quotes for critical illness or cancer insurance

[justinsmom]

Going along with the no health insurance issue is what about my son who is on our policy right now but is to be married possibly in Feb. He is 21 & will be a full time college student so won't qualify for insurance through work, what are his options going to be? Coach Rak maybe you have some advice? Our insurance agent is looking into it but it doesn't sound promising.........

[Don]

If justin doesn't have a lot of assets,money in the back and a small income he might qualify for state sponsored Medicaid!!! I qualified in Fl because I had 2 children. The money I have paid out of pocket is minimal!!! The requirement to meet differ from state to state and most hospitals and Doctors except the Medicaid!!!!

[Scott]

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the organization behind Cover the Uninsured Week, offers these State Guides to Finding Health Insurance (http://covertheuninsuredweek.org/stateguides/).

[Scott]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a searchable database of health centers (http://ask.hrsa.gov/pc/).

[Scott]

CancerCare offers a guide to "Financial Help for People with Cancer" at this link (http://www.cancercare.org/pdf/services/fs_financialhelp.pdf).

[discodolly]

I would like to know if anyone has had any luck with applying for disability thru SSI. My son is 23 with no children and never been married. I applied for SSI since this is the only way he will be eligible for Medicaid. They tell me it will take 3-5 months before we hear anything. I am worried since per the SSI guidelines the prognosis must be that he will be "disabled" for 1 year. Don't know if this is retroactive back to when he started feeling ill of when the time is measured from. He has no income and hasn't had any since Sept 05.

He is receiving Food Stamps now and we have applied for the $150.00 one time allotment from Cancer Care.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Debbie

[discodolly]

Still hoping someone will respond to the previous question about SSI

[cotoram]

I am sorry, but from everything I hear about getting social security to pay for disability it is very hard. The definition of disability is very strict (my father is an MD and performs SS exams in Oregon, while I am an insurance consultant). The definition of total disability that needs to be satisfied before it pays is almost someone who is completely incapacitated.

[discodolly]

We did not apply for total disability, it is only temporary.

[Don]

I sorry I didn,t respond to your question earlier.. I am on SSI disability for 3 reasons 1) TC stage3c disabled me for more than 6 months--2) I lost a kidney--3) I still suffer from severe neuropathy which may or may not go away.. I was approved for 100% disability.. Once the paperwork is submitted to SSI it takes 8-12 weeks for a reply as to whether or not he will be approved.. If approved he will start receiving benifits on the 1st day of the fifth month after he became disabled.. I became disabled 9/18/04 -I submitted my SSI papers Feb 05--I was approved jun 05and received my first check in july 05-- I did not receive back payment for the first 5 months because you have to be disabled that long to even be considered for SSI.. I did however receive a lump sum payment for feb05-july05 (6months) for me and my children which helped a great deal.. They also figure you monthly benifits according to how much you make -- if you son make 30k a year he would receive about 800 a month SSI,40k a year 1000 a month--and so on until you reach the maximum of $1634 per month in benifits-- You also receive Medicaid for the first 2 years dating from the day you became disabled--after the 2 years is up you are then transferred to Medicare which is much better.. From what I have learned a Cancer patient will generally qualify for disability upto 24 months past the date your are deemed to be in remission--from that piont you qualify for an addition 36 months of benifits so you can get back to work or learn a new career.. Seeing you son is younger ,if he qualifies for SSI, they will also pay for him to go to school to learn trade which may be good to take advantage of if needed. I happen to be in a little different situation due to loosing the kidney and the neuropathy.. SSI will generally reevaluate a case every 2-5 years--7 years if you qualify for 100% disability.. If you have any questions please feel free to ask--Email me att dsl122971@aol.com DON :)

[discodolly]

Don - Thanks much for responding. This takes a lot of worry off my mind. I will email you and let you know how it goes.

[Renea Rosson]

Dolly,

Just read your post regarding SSI, I don't know what your sons status is right now but my son is 26 and he did in fact apply for short term disability through SSI and he has been approved. It did take about 3 months but he has it which will provide some income for him and will also provide him with Medicaid to help pay where his other medical insurance leaves off. Hope this helps. Renea Rosson

[jonwil]

This link may be of interest to those of us in the UK. It is from the Department of Works and Pension. It was updated in April 2008

"This medical guidance for Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance Decision Makers has been developed by the Departments Health and Benefits Division with help from experts involved in patient care. It contains background information on the more common medical conditions in DLA/AA claims, their treatment, the likely disabling effects together with the likely impact on ability to self care and get around. "

The part on TC is: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/medical/med_conditions/tc/

Jon

[Mitch]

Here is another site with information. It states that it outlines all of each state’s public and private health care choices for individuals and groups in almost every demographic profile, as well as offering a reference list of phone numbers and web sites.
http://www.coverageforall.org/our_services.htm#apps