Hi, I am 23 years old and have spent the last 4 years working full-time in retail and unfortunately also going without medications because I could not afford them and could not find any other assistance. Working in retail sucks because I spend too much time on my feet and have poor insurance benefits. I have looked for other work that might offer better health insurance but haven’t had much luck. I received my certification as a Nursing Assistant and worked in a nursing home that offered decent health coverage but that job caused more problems than it solved. As a kid I was on SSI and Medicaid and I still qualify today. I am now in the hospital and it is giving me time to think about receiving it again but I am feeling discouraged after someone told me I would be using it as a "crutch." My average lung function has gone from the high 80s to the low 50s in the past 4 years and although I know that a decrease is normal for CF patients, I also think it could be higher if I was able to receive all of the medication my doctor recommends. I receive assistance with some of my medications but assistance is not available for everything. SSI would limit my income but it would also allow me to take all of my medications, hopefully spend less time in the hospital, and it would make it easier to return to collage. I have an Associate’s degree but would like to continue on because I do not want to work in retail forever. Does anyone have an opinion for me? Advice? Please?
How do I get better health insurance?
- Thread starter Haley12
- Start date
Aboveallislove
Super Moderator
A few thoughts: First, if someone wants to call it a crutch--so be it--you need something to help hold you up. It is not a hammock--you are not sitting around taking advantage. You need your medicine! That said, you might be able with the help of the social worker find a way to get assistance through the pharma companies the CFF drug support programs, etc. Or your state might have a program specifically for CF which isn't going on SSI and which covers co-pays. While in the hospital can you ask the social worker to sit down and help you with these ideas? Re continuing education: You don't want to be in the situation where you have so much in loans it puts you in the same spot, so you want to make sure you find an area where you will find a good paying job (IT, accounting, engineering, etc.) and a way to finance without going in debt. There might still be some "job retraining" types of funds. Here you might want to contact a state unemployment agency for guidance. PM me if you want to brainstorm on any of this.
Hang in there. Hugs.
Hang in there. Hugs.
W
welshwitch
Guest
Hi Haley,
getting health insurance with CF is a magic formula, one I have spent many years working on. I'm 32 now and have had health insurance successfully since I was 25. However, I've had jobs that were bad fits and in retrospect I was just working the jobs so that I could have health insurance.
The key is threefold: a job with benefits, a job you LIKE, and a job that won't take a hit on your health. Me, working office 9 to 5s work well. I tried teaching high school and working at high pressure startups with less success (although they were jobs I didn't like, and I don't think my health had anything to do w. it).
I enjoy working at community oriented non profits. But I didn't come to this conclusion alone. I went to a career counselor for 2 months to get clarity. You won't get far if you hate your job. Also the career counselor was essential in helping me with my resume, interview strategies, and networking. I totally recommend talking to one to get closer to your goal of leaving retail. They aren't cheap, but in my opinion worth every penny!
Good luck!
getting health insurance with CF is a magic formula, one I have spent many years working on. I'm 32 now and have had health insurance successfully since I was 25. However, I've had jobs that were bad fits and in retrospect I was just working the jobs so that I could have health insurance.
The key is threefold: a job with benefits, a job you LIKE, and a job that won't take a hit on your health. Me, working office 9 to 5s work well. I tried teaching high school and working at high pressure startups with less success (although they were jobs I didn't like, and I don't think my health had anything to do w. it).
I enjoy working at community oriented non profits. But I didn't come to this conclusion alone. I went to a career counselor for 2 months to get clarity. You won't get far if you hate your job. Also the career counselor was essential in helping me with my resume, interview strategies, and networking. I totally recommend talking to one to get closer to your goal of leaving retail. They aren't cheap, but in my opinion worth every penny!
Good luck!
Thank you for the advice. I have talked to the social worker at my local Cystic Fibrosis clinic and besides giving me the information for the medication assistance programs and helping me with the application processes, she hasn’t had any more advice for me. I live in Louisville, KY and do not know of any other assistance available. My Pulmozyme, Tobi, Creon, and insulin is paid for but the other medications I pay for out-of-pocket or go without. As far as college goes, I was planning on applying for grants and scholarships but avoiding loans. I do not want to get in any more debt because of school. Vocational Rehabilitation should also be able to help (they paid for half of my Associate’s degree).
L
ladeedah
Guest
I am the mother of a 24 year old with CF, so if I was your mother I would encourage you to get back on SSI/Medicaid and go back to school. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that your are using SSI/Medicaid as "a crutch" because that assistance is there to help keep you healthy. You need your meds ... all of your meds. You need your education too. A good job requires a good education. It is possible to get your degree without going into debt because my daughter did it. Applying for scholarships and grants was like a part-time job for our family but it was worth it since she graduated at the top of her class with two degrees and no educational debt. If you need more financial help you can see about getting a job on campus so you can work around you scheduled classes more easily.
You already know what is NOT working for you ... a dead-end job with poor insurance coverage is not working. Time to make future goals that includes making your health a priority. From your question I can see that you already know that this is the right thing for you to do ... so just do it ... start contacting your local universities. Good luck.
You already know what is NOT working for you ... a dead-end job with poor insurance coverage is not working. Time to make future goals that includes making your health a priority. From your question I can see that you already know that this is the right thing for you to do ... so just do it ... start contacting your local universities. Good luck.
M
mgl
Guest
Large companies such as phone and cable companies, utilities, and banks often offer better benefits. They also sometimes offer tuition assistance programs. You could get an entry level job at one of them and work your way up while working on your education. One of my friends worked for a bank in a call centre, got their support to pay for college courses in web design, and then transferred to the web team. These companies often offer flexible work hours in addition to good benefits and can be a good choice for somebody who might have more medical appointments than others.
I'm not sure if this will help or not but we have good insurance and are with a large company. My husband is a Sheriff's Deputy that works for a large county so the insurance is great, but we were still having trouble keeping up with all of the surgeries (15) and all of the hospital stays, and medicines. Last year we purchased an accident and sickness policy for Abby. It pays different in every state I think but for us it pays 800 for each hospital admission, 100 for each ER visit, and 200 a day for each day in hospital, and 100 a day for extended sickness at home (home IV therapy), 100 for ambulance, 500 for life flight, surgeries 1,000, 100 day lodging, 300 per trip while in hospital and it also has an accidental death policy that comes with it. But if you add all that up it covers our copays plus gives us extra money. (1 hospital admission=$800 + 2 weeks in hospital=$2,600; 2600+800=3400!!)(say your policy cost you $60 per month that is $720 per year; 3400-720=2680 in free money and that's for one hospital admission! We usually have at least 2 so double that!!!) And the great thing is they don't care if you have CF!!! No medical evaluations!!! They didn't even care that Abby had already had 15 surgeries and multiple hospital stays! We went ahead and insured the whole family and it was $143 per month for all of us! So an individual would be way less! The companies name is Combined Insurance. If you google it you find a lot of negative stuff that I have no idea what is, but we have had several claims already and they have paid no problem. I heard of them through other CFer's, and they are the only company that has not gotten on the bandwagon to not insure CFers. If you search this forum for "Hospital Indemnity Policy" it should pull up the conversation with everyone talking about it and what it has done for them. Hope this helps!!! Keep your head up!! 