Paying the Doctor's Bill

When I was a kid and someone was fighting, or maybe if they threatened to hurt us, it was common to hear this retort, "You'll have to pay the doctor's bill." 

Thinking about that now, it's a clear giveaway that my neighborhood was made of lower middle-class working families. What other kids would think that having to pay a bill was a worthy threat? And a doctor's bill, no less. 

Maybe we had osmosed the worries of our parents: how were they going to pay the doctor's bills that come with raising a bunch of kids? 

Today we have returned to that worry: how in the heck is anyone going to pay for healthcare and how, indeed will we pay for the high cost of cancer?

Money talk? Yes there are taboos in CancerLand and money is one of them. 

Many of us have experienced people turning away from us because they don’t know how to talk about, or ask about, our loved one’s cancer.

But money is the place where most of us turn away. It’s a different kind of uncomfortable. We are reluctant to ask about prices, costs, expenses and who is willing to bluntly ask, "Can we afford this?” when the conversation is about a cancer diagnosis.

So, I was very happy to see a helpful document in Sunday's New York Times. The article was called, "A Financial Bill of Rights for Patients" and it details--in plain English was you can expect, ask for, and stand your ground to receive in the financial realm of medical/hospital care.

I'm putting the link below and you do want to read and print out the one page document--put a copy in your caregiver notebook/totebag.

There are nine (9) Financial Rights and they are:

The Right to an itemized bill--in plain English

The Right to no surprise bills

The Right to accurate info about providers in the plan

The Right to a stable network (this was big news to me!)

The Right to be informed of conflicts of interest

The Right to know in advance of facilities fees

The Right to see a price list for procedures

The Right to know about cheaper options

The Right to know your bill will not be sent to collections!

Lots of good stuff here--and in plain English. 

This is def a post--and a link to send to all the caregivers you know. We have so much to worry about everyday. Lets help each other lower the financial stresses.

Here's the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/opinion/sunday/patients-rights-hospitals-health-care.html

Money and Cancer

Yes, those are two great taboos that we encounter in CancerLand. We know the experience of people turning away or being insensitive because they don’t know how to talk or ask about cancer.

But money is the place where many of us turn away. We are reluctant to ask about prices, costs, expenses and who can say, “Can we afford this?” when the conversation is about the cancer care of a loved one?

Simply by our social culture we treat money talk as taboo then mix in a crisis, a hint of death, some judgments about family issues, savings, spending…and you have a great big silence. One frequent blind spot is assuming that if you have health insurance you are all set. But, and you know if you have cancer, seeing a doctor several times a month can mean a big bill of co-pays. You can be in debt even before chemo begins.

That silence around money and the cost of cancer care can hurt everyone: the patient, the caregivers, the kids and extended family and friends as well. Money talk is just plain fraught. But it’s crucial. And there is help –both financial help and help in how to talk about it.

CURE Magazine has published a special report called “Paying for Cancer Care.” It’s a tremendous resource and it’s free as are most of the resources they provide in the print and online publication.

Here are some of the articles in the publication:

Financial Fix: A cancer diagnosis could break the bank, but it doesn’t have to.

Risky Business: Concerns about insurance should be addressed early.

Debt Crisis: Coping with cancer’s financial aftermath calls for creative solutions.

Money Madness: Worry about the cost of care takes an emotional toll.

That’s just a start to what is available in the special report, “Paying for Cancer Care.”

You can see the publication and all the links online at www.curetoday.com Here is the link:

http://www.curemagazine.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/article.show/id/2/article_id/2236