Health care is expensive. It can be hard enough to pay for the multi-pronged care those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome typically need even if you're able to work and have good insurance. What happens if you're underinsured, uninsured or unemployed? Those are questions I'm being asked more and more.
I wish there was an easy answer, but there's just not. There are, however, ways you can save money on health care, and there are places to turn for help. I've compiled these resources from around the About.com Health network:
- Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
- More on Prescription Drug Savings
- Saving Money on Health Insurance
- Paying for Surgery
For issues that go beyond that, you might want to contact the Patient Advocate Foundation, which specializes in helping with insurance access issues, medical debt and job retention.
If you want a complementary/alternative treatment, like acupuncture or massage, but don't have insurance coverage for it, call around. I know sometimes practitioners have a sliding scale or reduced rate for uninsured patients.
The bottom line is: don't give up on getting the care you need!
Have you found ways to get medical treatment you couldn't afford? Are you currently unable to afford treatment? Leave your comments below!
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- Applying for Social Security Disability
- Getting Reasonable Accommodation at Work
- Find a Support Group
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Patient Advocate Foundation doe s not recognize CFIDS as an illness and provides no support for it.
Adrienne, your column is important to most of us with CFS and FM, so it it actually borders on cruel that you would not check out your resources before getting our hopes up, as in the case of the Patient Advocate people.
NOTHING is more destructive to me that a conversation with somebody that doesn’t believe I have a legitimate illness. Jane, I’m so sorry you had to have that experience.
This seems like an overly ambitious topic, as frankly there is no real relief other than disability for people serious sick with CFS & FM. Even disability won’t work for insurance, as nobody wants to give me a medicare backup policy as I am under 65.
I have already tried each and every trick in ABOUT to reduce premiums and expenses, but they don’t work.
My husband and I are spending $18,000/yr on our premium and our drugs around $3000 (even using generics, samples, pill splitting and prescriptions) and I have a $6000 deductible for testing plus co-pays, physical therapy twice a week that is not covered by insurance, average five dr visits a month with co-pay and pay for an IV once a week. And see two CFS specialists out of town at a cost of $1000 each plus travel/hotel expenses at least once a year.
We have little income as my husband cannot work a full time job but must take care of me at home and I have no income at all.
With medical bills of over $30,000 a year and an income of about the same, our savings are almost gone. My doctors are begging me to go to Vanderbilt for treatment for POTS, but I don’t have the extra cash to go. Now they are suggesting they will stop treatment me as they are afraid to deal with it.
I would call that trouble.
I hope and pray that mine is a severe situation, but I doubt it. Good luck, people.
I was so happy to find your site and have a collection of your newsletters on my computer to refer to.
I have had Fibromyalgia since I was 16…I was hit by a car and it triggered it. Of course back then they didn’t know what it was. and didn’t recognize my pain.It I have a very severe case and it totally turned my life and plans upside down and does not let me have a normal life.
These days, I am more concious of keeping active and such…I have tried several medicines and I take nutritionals each day. The meds did not help me, I know the nutritionals do help at least keep my body running better than it would without them. There are things that might help, such as water therapy, theraputic exercises when I can do them and such but the cash outlay is impossible for me, and to boot, my husband has a severe case of it also and is disabled from the war, so we are a tight tight budget which doesn’t allow us to buy all the meds we need or go place that cost money…. we are routing for a cure or at least something that is not toxic but makes everyone feel well enough to at least have a productive lifestyle.
Thank you,
Carol
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK…YOU ARE NEEDED
To All…Please see my post under: Change & Self-Discipline With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on Thursday June 24, 2010. Adrienne, I want to thank you SO very much for your reply on my post. I was moved to tears and know you truly feel for all of us and are trying to do your best to help. When I applied for Unemployment in NC, it clearly stated that you could not seek Disability while on Unemployment. Perhaps I misunderstood. I hope the Unemployment laws are similar for all states. Now, I WILL pursue this route and contact the lawyer to get this started. You have a VERY difficult job with a monumental responsibility to gather resources for us and I applaud your efforts. Unfortunately, the present way our US system has set up healthcare and assistance for those who lack monetary resources, Federal/State Agencies do not want to make this information easily obtainable for those who REALLY need this help. I can only hope this will change in my lifetime. To Ellie…I do not HAVE $18,000 a year to live on or, much less, pay this amount for insurance premiums. Please do not harbor such harsh feelings with what Adrienne is trying to do with this column. If we can glean just one thing from her articles, it is better than what we had before. As I already know about the topics in some articles, I have learned much and have found an opportunity to vent frustrations and feel free to discuss the complications that FM/CFS bring to our lives. Thanks again Adrienne…keep up the good work and God bless us all.
Thank you soo much Adrienne , I always look forward to your articles, they have helped me by knowing alot of us out there have FM/CFS as my family does’nt think anything is wrong with me. I also have no insurance and my husband is on ssi from a car accident that crushed both his legs so he works part-time at wal-mart as a door greeter. I had to leave my job as a nurse because of FM and other illness. Thanks for listening. Donna