Financial Options for Cancer Patients Needing Assistance

Cancer patients and families have enough challenges and hurdles to overcome and unfortunately, financial burden is one of them.  Normally, healthcare insurance policies only cover a fraction of the cost associated with expensive cancer care.  As a result, patients and families members need to identify resources for financial assistance.  In this article, we will review a few options that some families may want to consider when they evaluate their personal financial situations.

Please note that this article is meant to be for informational purposes and is not meant to communicate financial advice and families should still consult a lawyer or professional financial planner.

Foundations

While there are several foundations and non-profit financial assistance programs available to cancer patients, a few of the more well-known cancer foundations include:

Patient Access Network Foundation (PAN):

This non-profit 501c3 foundation is unaffiliated with its financial sponsors and is focused on assisting patients who are in-need with their out-of-pocket costs associated with their cancer treatment.   They are a national organization and have been recognized as one of the largest financial assistance organizations available to cancer patients.   In addition to providing financial assistance, PAN also helps educate patients and families on how to best manage their financial debt while battling cancer.

HealthWell Foundation:

This foundation provides patients with assistance in affording prescription medications, specifically addressing out-of-pocket costs incurred via prescription drug co-insurances, co-pays, deductibles and even healthcare insurance premiums.  The foundation currently provides assistance for select tumor types based on their secured funds.  Therefore, for cancer type coverage, please visit their disease page (http://healthwellfoundation.org/diseases.html)

CancerCare:

This national non-profit has partnered with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to create the Linking ARMS program, providing limited financial assistance for hormonal and oral chemo, pain and anti-nausea medication, lymphedema supplies and other medical treatment care for women with breast cancer.  They have also partnered with the Avon Foundation to provide financial assistance to low-income, underinsured or uninsured women throughout the country who need supportive services relating to the treatment of breast and cervical cancer.

Income from Life Insurance Policies

Other sources of financial income for cancer patients may include viaticals and accelerated life benefits from their life insurance policies.  These options are particularly sensitive on a case-by-case basis and should be carefully considered whether they are right for them.

Viaticals

Viaticals are the sale of the patient’s life insurance policy for immediate cash with another insurance company who agrees to buy policies from people with terminal illnesses.  This insurance company becomes the new owner of the policy and the sole beneficiary of the policy.  It pays the premiums so long as the patient is alive, and when the patient dies, the death benefit goes directly to the viatical company.  Patient families and heirs will not receive any of the death payout, however, viaticals offer immediate assistance to help pay for food, shelter, doctor visits and other pressing needs.  This extreme option helps ease the stress of financial concerns.

Accelerated Life Benefits

Accelerated Life Benefits act similarly like personal loans on the patient’s life insurance policies.  Insurance companies make it possible for policy owners to collect part of their death benefits early to help cover extraordinary expenses.  These benefits are not intended to replace normal health insurance or long-term care insurance, but they can provide extra help with needs that result from terminal or catastrophic illnesses.  For greater detail, please consult the American Council of Life Insurers.

We will be reviewing additional financial options in the future since financial assistance is a real and pressing issue affecting several cancer patients.   However, it’s important to know that there are available resources to help patients and families address the cost of cancer care.