The Medical Expenses Support Center

Facing the Initial Impact of Medical Expenses

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Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like medical expenses, you are never alone.  Countless men and women have faced the exact same situation and have survived and thrived.  The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.  

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled links to the very best medical expenses resources: articles, blogs, forums and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional and other challenges that you face.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this Medical Expenses Guide even more helpful to survivors like you.    

JUST FOUND OUT  

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Medical Expenses

The Big Picture    

If medical expenses that you or a family member have accrued have gotten out of control, there are a variety of institutions and options to consider. Medical debt relief can help with the excess medical expenses, even if you don’t have medical insurance.

Health Well Foundation: FAQ

Your Medical Expenses

Depending on your specific needs, there are different ways of dealing with your medical expenses.

Patient Access Network

Your World

After finding out that your medical expenses seem to be more than you can deal with, it is common to feel overwhelmed. But don’t despair, there are resources available to lessen your financial burden.

Patient Access Network: How to Apply

Dealing With Medical Expenses

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Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

Types of Relief

Low-cost health insurance

Low-cost health insurance can provide some relief for medical expenses.

Health Insurance Resource Center

Debt relief/consolidation

If medical expenses have forced you into debt, you can find help to consolidate your debt or find aid for your medical expenses.

Patient Advocate Foundation

Tax write-offs

Medical expenses can be written off on your taxes. Learn whether your expenses can be written off:

Internal Revenue Service: Medical and Dental Expenses 

Creating a Support Circle

  • Set up your TSC Survivor Profile
  • Join support groups of other survivors or set up your own
  • Interact and provide updates on your profile or our forums

Insurance & Work Matters

Oftentimes, the most affordable health insurance is provided by employers. Check with your company to see if you qualify for their health insurance plan

People Who Can Help

Debt relief specialists and charity organizations often can help with medical expenses and finding an affordable solution.

Patient Advocate: Resources

The Emotional Rollercoaster

Coping with extensive medical expenses can be a considerable challenge. Some people find that dealing with the financial pressure is as much of a hardship emotionally as financially. Educating yourself on the realities of medical expenses and how they will affect you can help give you perspective and wisdom for surviving this crisis. 

Books Survivors Recommend

Information and Recommended Links for Co-Survivors

How you can help

  • Assist your friend or family member with finding a solution to their medical expenses. Whether you research debt relief agencies or help your friend create a budget, your assistance will be valuable.
  • Offer your friend or family member an ear -- listen to their worries and struggles. Sometimes just being there is a huge service.

What to say    

  • "I will support your decision, however you decide to handle these expenses.”
  • "Let’s not focus on what happened, but on ways to best handle the medical expenses.”
  • "You have options in dealing with your medical expenses."

What not to say

  • "How could you not have had insurance?"
  • "How did you let it go so far?"
  • "Why did you pay so much?"

Things you can do for a survivor every day

If a survivor is struggling with things beyond medical bills, offer support by finding leads for medical expense relief. Charities like CaringVoice.org can help. You can also help your friend or family member find affordable insurance at Healthinsurance.org.

Alternately, you might simply pitch in with your friend or family member's household responsibilities. Offer to buy groceries or cook them dinner -- these things can provide immense relief when someone is going through a financial crisis.

How to build a support network

  • Set up your TSC Co-Survivor Profile
  • Create a support group for your friend or family member.
  • Interact and provide updates

Recover & Thrive

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You’re not alone; millions of Americans have faced medical expenses and gotten through the crisis, one way or another. You just need to find the right solution for you.

If you're currently in need of medical attention, but you don't have health insurance, the federal government provides free and low-cost healthcare.

Health Resources and Services Administration: Help

For inspiring stories of people who survived devastating illnesses, visit:

Patient Advocate Foundation: Success Stories

Give Back

What helped you while you were dealing with the worry of medical expenses? Take a look back at your journey and share with others what helped you and what you wished you would have known/done during your medical expenses experience. You can create a profile, reach out to other survivors, join support circles or share your story by following the links at TheSurvivorsClub.org.

Check out one of the best resources for help and information regarding chronic disease, which can be the most expensive form of disease:

Chronic Disease Fund: Resources

Worst Case

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Although there is hope, sometimes bankruptcy is your only option. Before declaring on your own, seek a financial adviser to make sure you have exhausted all other options and to learn what to do next. Patient Advocate Foundation can direct you to someone who can help.

Patient Advocate: Request Personalized Help

Comments & Stories
The TSC community wants to hear from you. Please share your comments, tips, favorite resources and stories. We'll post them here as soon as possible.

Total Comments: 1


Medical Expense

2009-05-29 02:28:50
by: VictorW

Senior citizens are taking the hit that no one talks about during the recession. Senior citizens, as their numbers increase exponentially, are increasingly taking to short term loans to keep afloat. As more people are laid off, there is less tax revenue coming in, and that is how Social Security and Medicare are funded. The Medicare expense out of every paycheck goes to the Medicare fund, and part of the Medicare woe is that not only is the fund running out faster than it can be replenished, but health care costs are going up. Medicare will be bankrupt in 8 years or less, which means we need debt relief to be able to care for our senior citizens.

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