Financial Ruin
NBC broadcast a report this morning about the extraordinary costs associated with cancer care.
The report discussed how often a cancer diagnosis can lead a family to bankruptcy, even when that family has good insurance. Supposedly 100,000 new bankruptcies are filed each year as a result of a cancer diagnosis.
For those without decent insurance, the situation is even more grim. For them, a cancer diagnosis usually leads to financial ruin or, quite frequently, death, as they forego much needed medical treatments.
We can certainly relate. As a lawyer for the state of Oklahoma, I have very good insurance. So when cancer struck at the age of 37, I assumed my insurance would give me all, or at least most, of the protection I needed.
Unfortunately, my cancer was extremely rare and aggressive, and there were no local experts for my disease. A regional cancer treatment center, like M.D. Anderson, in Houston was my best hope.
Thankfully, my insurance reps agreed to treat M.D. Anderson as “in network,” so that my treatments are processed at the same rates as they would be had they been incurred in Oklahoma, thus saving me thousands and thousands of dollars.
But that’s not the end of the story. Insurance doesn’t cover the costs associated with going back and forth to Houston. And so, when I head down to Houston for treatments or consultations or exams, all the travel costs are mine. That includes airplane tickets, gasoline, rental cars, meals, hotel bills, parking, and any “entertainment” we may decide upon to keep ourselves from going crazy. These costs can add up quickly, especially when you must head to Houston four to eight times a year.
So when cancer first struck in 2001, our savings took a big hit, to put it mildly. Before long we were charging the bulk of our trips to Houston to credit cards. When those balances became too large, we took out a second mortgage. And then, when the credit cards started escalating again, we sold our house, using the equity to pay off old bills.
When my latest bout with stage 4 cancer began, we were so exasperated by the thought of facing this same scenario again–that is, mounting credit card debt and the associated financial strain–that I actually considered giving up. That is, to let the disease run its course and just die, rather than leaving my wife and children with huge debts, for the likelihood was that I would die anyway.
But some dear friends, Kay and Ron Mercer, stepped in and set up a family/medical account with a local bank. Whenever LeAnn participated in a run, the Mercers sent out letters to friends, telling them about the account and requesting donations.
That account has saved us. For even though we have good insurance, the medical account has provided that extra cushion we need whenever insurance has paid all it is required to pay. As a result, our credit cards balances are stable, and we have at least some sense of financial normalcy.
We are lucky to have friends like the Mercers, and others, people who see a need and then step in to help. We are truly blessed by their acts of kindness and by those of you who have contributed to that fund or helped in some other meaningful way. We thank God for you and pray that we can grow in wisdom and empathy as a result.
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Comments
My family, too, was blessed with good insurance thanks to my employment with the state. But we still found ourselves in near bankruptcy after paying for our son’s multiple cardio-thoracic surgeries and eventual heart transplant before the age of six. Like you, travel expenses to other states, really did us in even with the benefit of the Ronald McDonald House and a great fundraising team. This weekend, with our blessedly healthy son, we’re helping another family raise money so that their baby can get the healthcare he needs. To do so, we have to literally panhandle outside stores that have agreed to acocomodate us. What have we come to as a humane, deomocratic society when children’s medical crises have to be advertised on jars at the local 7-11?
I can’t imagine the costs you must be incurring. Thank God for thoughtful, wonderful friends – any help must make all the difference. What you’re doing on this blog is admirable and wonderful, by the way. All the best.