Is Nothing Really Ever As Easy As It Seems?

Four days after my last round of chemo on March 7th, I received a $1,500 bill from the physicians’ billing department at my treatment center.  In the fall, I had applied for, and received, full financial assistance for covering my out of pocket expenses for a year from the time of my cancer diagnosis.  I was eligible because, since leaving my job of 20 years in 2007, my income has been substantially reduced and I have a high deductible health insurance plan. 

I was certain that the bill was sent by mistake. When I was originally approved for assistance, I was told to call the billing department if I received any bills and they would take care of it. So, on Friday morning the 11th, I called the financial office, only to be told that the one thing they don't cover completely through financial aid are the chemo drugs.  A minor detail!  The chemo drugs cost about $8,000 per round, and, apparently, the physician's assistance program only covers 40% of that cost.  I am responsible for the other 60% until I meet my annual deductible, which is $5,000. This was news to me.

Well, after six rounds of chemo, and being pretty much an emotional rock from my diagnosis through surgery and chemo, that was enough to tip me over the edge. I had a bit of a meltdown after I got off the phone. The financial assistance supervisor said I should speak to the oncology social worker, but I was too wrought to speak to anyone intelligently about the issue that day. I finally made some calls the following Tuesday, and discovered that because it's after the fact there is only one foundation that will take a "look back" at previously incurred expenses. (Gee, if they had let me know this before the fact, I might have applied for additional help up front, and it wouldn't be after the fact!) To complicate matters, this particular foundation only opens the application process on the first of every month at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time -- standard, not daylight, not moonlight, not eclipse -- no matter what time of year it is. The phones are open until they run out of the allotted funding for the month.  So, on April 1st, I will be among the many people sitting by the phone, waiting for the stroke of 11 EST, to call and apply for additional assistance to cover the gap in my 100% financial aid!

Despite my initial shock upon learning that I am responsible for this bill, I do know how very fortunate I am to get the aid I'm receiving and I don't want to sound ungrateful. My treatment has spanned two calendar years, and could have cost me $10,000 out of pocket, so $1,500 is a relatively low price to pay. I just can't quite get over the irony that here I was sailing along, so relieved not to have to worry about the fiscal implications of cancer, and then five days after my last round of chemo the "other shoe" dropped. In this case it was a good sized financial one!  This begs the question – is nothing ever as easy as it seems?

P.S.  For those of you who might now be inclined to reach for your checkbooks, please know that if I don’t get the foundation funding I have other options, including an extended interest free payment plan. So put your checkbooks away, or write a check to NPR or the Red Cross’ effort in Japan instead, since I don’t have as much to give them at the moment as I would like.