How Cancer Patients can Keep Track of Medical Bills

Everyone knows cancer is costly—and getting money for cancer patients is critical. Here’s one way to guard your resources: get super organized when it comes to medical bills; it could result in big savings. As anyone who has had a lengthy illness, or even a short term health issue, there are bills and then there are those documents that say, “this is not a bill,” but rather an explanation of benefits or EOB. Medical bills aren’t like credit card statements or any other type of bill for a service, where you get one tidy monthly amount you owe. Instead, bills for one event—a hospital stay for some surgery, for example—come flying in from many different providers. The anesthesiologist will bill separately from the radiologist, as will the surgeon and others. One event, many bills.  Organizing Your Medical Bills  You might want to track events and bills on a spreadsheet, noting dates for services provided, when claims were filed, etc. There are also reimbursements from insurance companies that need to be matched to bills you paid for. But a spreadsheet cannot replace a well-organized file system grouping items that are unresolved, those that are resolved, and so on. One solution is to create a tickler file, a set of folders (and you can do this on the computer as well) with dates, where you put notes about events you expect to have happen in the future. Accuracy Counts Consult your accountant; they may advise recording expenses to get care (including money spent on travel, meal and lodging) and any other costs related to cancer treatment. But perhaps the biggest cost savings...

Breast Cancer Patients: Are you financially prepared?

Someone who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer faces many decisions and questions. A frequent one is, how do I prepare financially? There are many places that can help breast cancer patients find financial help. Here are four suggestions: The American Cancer Society The Susan G. Komen Foundation The National Breast Cancer Foundation And the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Other donation sites can be found through searching online. There’s an entire culture beyond the foundations dedicated to helping people with the disease. There are also breast cancer boot camps for people wanting to get back in shape, such as the Beat Cancer Boot Camp. What will you discover about the support culture? Reach out to others and see what they’ve found. Breast cancer can be terrifying, but it doesn’t have to be faced alone. Life Credit CompanyWe are a licensed consumer lender that is dedicated to providing financial assistance for patients who are facing serious illness. With a Living Benefit Loan, from Life Credit Company, you can receive up to 50% of your life insurance policy’s death benefit today. Whether you need to catch up on medical bills, consolidate debt or take your family on a dream vacation, this is your money to spend without restrictions. If you have at least $75,000 of life insurance and have been diagnosed with cancer or other serious medical condition, you may qualify for a loan. Contact us today to speak with a professional counselor who is standing by to assist you.More Posts Follow...

Can You Borrow from Your FEGLI Policy?

Retired federal employees who have been diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness may wonder: can you borrow from your FEGLI policy? As every federal employee knows, FEGLI, the Federal Employee Group Life Insurance Program, is famous for its virtues and its limitations. However, it is possible to borrow money from your FEGLI policy. FEGLI Policy Limitations One major limitation is that the amount of life insurance coverage is fixed once the federal employee retires. People go through life changes that would suggest coverage should fluctuate, where a reduction in the size of the coverage makes sense. From going through a divorce, or having their spouse pass away to having their children grow up, coverage that was once vital for the continued support of a family may no longer be needed. The problem is, the policyholder is stuck paying for coverage they don’t need. And the retiree can’t cancel the insurance policy, regardless of circumstances. If the policyholder has a serious financial problem—like trying to cover the costs of medical treatment, maintaining the policy can be difficult. FEGLI Loans: The Silver Lining Here’s one virtue: If the policyholder meets certain criteria, they may be eligible for a loan against the FEGLI policy. It’s a loan where no payments need to be made; the repayment is handled from the proceeds of the death benefit. And they can use the loan for any purpose; it’s up to them. In that case, the extra insurance coverage, that might otherwise feel like a burden, can be important to determining the possible size of the loan. A negative becomes a positive. If you were...