Financial and Insurance Considerations:
Caring for Someone with Lymphoma

Keeping Track of Documents

It can be helpful to keep all important documents and paperwork in one place. This will make things easier to find when you need them and will save you valuable time. Important documents that you should keep include:

• Medical and insurance records
• Pensions and social security records
• Bank statements
• Wills
• Health care proxy
• Power of attorney

Knowing Your Rights

Review your loved one’s insurance policies to understand what treatments are covered. There are government programs called Entitlements that provide aid to people with cancer. Your hospital or community social worker can help you get in touch with the governmental agencies that regulate these aid programs. If you have been working for more than a year in a company with 50 or more employees, you may be eligible for an unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Smaller companies may also let you use sick days and vacations for caregiving purposes. Check with the human resources department to find out whether this applies to you.

Finding Financial Resources

If your loved one expects to run into financial difficulties, reaching out to the people involved and working out payment plans early on can be helpful. This applies to hospital bills, creditors, landlords, utilities and mortgage companies. Resources for cancer patients requiring financial help include:

• Medicine Assistance Tool (call 571-350-8643 or visit medicineassistancetool.org).
• CancerCare (call 800-813-HOPE [4673] or visit cancercare.org)
• Patient Advocate Foundation (call 800-532-5274 or visit patientadvocate.org)
• Social Security Administration (call 800-772-1213 or visit ssa.gov)