Category Archives: Health Insurance
Financial Resources for Breast Cancer and More
Financial Help for Breast Cancer
The Pink Fund provides up to $3,000 in grants to pay non-medical bills of men and women currently in treatment for breast cancer. More at thepinkfund.org. The Pan Foundation provides grants to women on Medicare with metastatic breast cancer who are currently in treatment. panfoundation.org. They have a new app called Fund Finder that helps patients find possible financial sources of help.
Breast Cancer’s Financial Toll
A new survey finds that younger women often encounter financial problems, including bankruptcy. The survey was made among applicants to The Pink Fund, a metro Detroit non-profit that gives as much as $3,000 to men and women in breast cancer treatment.
State Insurance Requirements Vary for Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy
Federal law requires health insurance plans to pay for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Still, many states and plans (so-called ERISA plans) are exempt. Here’s a good summary, state by state, with links, to what each state requires, and another link to The Pink Fund, which helps women pay non-medical bills for up to $3,000 total over three months while they are in treatment.
http://prma-enhance.com/useful-…/breast-reconstruction-laws…
Financial Help During Breast Cancer Treatment
Molly MacDonald founded The Pink Fund, a metro Detroit non-profit, after experiencing severe financial problems during her breast cancer story. It provides up to $3,000 for non-medical bills for women during breast cancer treatment. For details and an application: http://www.pinkfund.org
Other Help:
Patient Advocate Organization: http://www.patientadvocate.org/NURD/index2.php?application=underinsured
Komen list http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/FinancialResources.html
20 Million Americans Have No Health Insurance; Helpful Resources
With 20 million Americans still uninsured, programs like The Pink Fund, pinkfund.org, and the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program,bcccp.org, available in every state, and which pays for screening mammograms for women ages 40-64 and for Pap smears for a larger group of women, remain so vital. The Pink Fund will pay as much as $3,000 towards non-medical expenses of women currently in treatment. These programs are vital to the groups without insurance detailed here: Hispanics, Southerners, Millennials, and of course, the near-poor.
We tell more about this issue in “Breast Cancer Surgery and Reconstruction: What’s Right for You,” with stories about Molly MacDonald, executive director of the Pink Fund, and Alisa Savoretti, founder of My Hope Chest, a Tampa non-profit that finds plastic reconstructive surgeons willing to operate at reduced rates for uninsured and under-insured women.
Alisa Savoretti, founder, My Hope Chest; supplied photo.
#breastcancer #breastreconstruction #womenshealth
How Race, Culture Affects Breast Cancer Surgery, Reconstruction Decisions
Recently, studies have shown that African American women prefer autologous breast reconstruction with their own tissue over implant breast reconstruction. Many, including Cheryl Perkins, a Detroit neonatal nurse, choose double mastectomy over lumpectomy when diagnosed with more aggressive triple-negative breast cancer.
Less is known about other cultures but the reporting we did in the large Arab community in metro Detroit found strong preferences towards lumpectomy, at least as a first choice. “Breast Cancer Surgery and Reconstruction: What’s Right for You,” offers a rare look at this issue among Arab women and showcases model programs in Dearborn, MI that encourage screening mammography and navigation help to ensure women have mammograms and followup biopsies, when needed, and that stick with women throughout a cancer diagnosis through treatment. These programs also provide a look at some exceptional translation services at Oakwood Hospital, part of the Beaumont Health System, and ACCESS, where breast cancer survivors Hiam Hamade and Ghada Aziz help women throughout cancer screening and treatment. Because of their work, more women are getting mammograms and are returning for biopsies and other advice.
We will explore the impact of race, culture and money on breast cancer surgery and reconstruction decisions in a panel discussion Sept. 29, 6-7:30 p.m., at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit.
Helpful Information on Job-Related Cancer Issues
The federal government has issued this guidance about job-related issues associated with cancer treatment. http://www.cancer.net/survivorship/life-after-cancer/cancer-and-workplace-discrimination
The Pink Fund, a metro Detroit non-profit, pays up to $3,000 to women currently in treatment for breast cancer, for non-medical bills such as rent, insurance and utilities. http://www.pinkfund.org
Insurance Influences Surgery, Reconstruction Choices, Study Says
Insurance may highly influence a woman’s access to breast reconstruction and certainly affects her choice of doctors. We look at issues about how money and insurance affect breast cancer surgery choices in “Breast Cancer Surgery and Reconstruction: What’s Right for You.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20160729/Study-highlights-more-barriers-to-breast-reconstruction-than-previously-thought.aspx