Financial Advocacy Program For Gynecologic Cancer Patients
Cancer doesn’t care what your financial situation is. Thankfully, Carol’s Wish does.
Going through cancer treatments is a strenuous time for any cancer patient. It is tough both mentally and physically. On top of that, when patients feel the stress from the financial aspect of their treatments, it becomes an extremely overwhelming situation.
The Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance has a program to help alleviate some of the financial stress of women diagnosed with gynecologic cancers.
“A program of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance, Carol’s Wish can help and is available to all women diagnosed with gynecologic cancers, regardless of income, insurance coverage, or citizenship status.”
This program offers support to women with gynecologic cancers by connecting them with an advocate who reviews their medical coverage, clinical treatment plan, and then can help them create a plan to minimize the financial burden.
Here is an example of a gynecologic cancer patient who benefitted from Carol’s Wish.
Gloria is 56 years old and was recently diagnosed with Stage IIB ovarian cancer. She had surgery in October 2019 and was just starting her chemotherapy regimen when we met her. While Gloria had previously been employed and was able to make ends meet, after her diagnosis she found herself unable to work because her job working with children is too dangerous for a person who is immunosuppressed from chemotherapy treatments. When we met her she was on unpaid leave with no income at all, and a private insurance policy with a maximum out of pocket of $6650. Gloria is enrolled in the insurance plan offered by her employer, and unfortunately there is no better option for her to reduce her out of pocket expenses.
Our advocate let Gloria know that she may be eligible to receive social security disability benefits and educated Gloria on how the process works. She continues to work with Gloria and will assist if and when Gloria decides to apply.
Our advocate was able to enroll Gloria in a foundation copay assistance program which pays for all of her prescription drugs, including her chemotherapy drugs, up to $4,000 a year. She also enrolled Gloria in a manufacturer’s copay assistance program which will pay Gloria’s out of pocket cost for a very expensive drug used to keep Gloria’s white blood cell count high enough to continue her chemotherapy regimen on the recommended timeline. Gloria lives outside of the Metro area, but her physician lives in Denver. She is receiving her chemotherapy closer to home. Our advocates located the financial counselor at the new facility and worked with her to get Gloria’s account set up to receive the benefits of both copay assistance programs, saving Gloria the hassle of requesting reimbursement on her own.
Gloria’s Carol’s Wish advocate is also assisting Gloria with submitting applications for community grants that will help her get through her immediate financial crisis, and continues to work with Gloria to ensure she is able to afford the treatment she needs to get better.
More Gynecologic Cancer Resources
If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer, you can find more helpful resources in our Resource Library. You’ll find:
- Our Start Here Guide
- Remote Second Opinion Guide
- 21 Questions To Ask Your Oncologist
- And more