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To Whom It May Concern:
Guess how much I spent out-of-pocket on medical bills this month as a 4-year breast cancer survivor?
I spent $482.98.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Oncologist: $50
- Lupron Injection: $0
- Bloodwork: $7.98
- Bi-annual Egg Freezing Fee: $345
- Bone Scan: $50
- PCP: $30
- Bloodwork: $24.14
- ENT: $0
- Tonsillectomy Procedure: $0
- Signatera: Denied by insurance and currently pending
- Medication: $42.62
- Total: $482.98
Here are 6 things I want to highlight:
1. Although it’s been 4 years since active treatment, I still have a lot of appointments, which means I continue to pay medical bills. It’s never ending!
2. Insurance benefits vary per person, per company, per circumstance, per country. I am extremely blessed to have great employer-based insurance, but you’ll notice that my employer invested in great surgery benefits but not-so-great fertility benefits. For my tonsillectomy, I paid $0 from pre-op to post-op, but I pay a lot to keep my eggs frozen.
3. In my case, I pay more for cancer-related services vs. non-cancer-related services.
4. In survivorship, I am still fighting denials to ultimately prevent paying thousands and thousands of dollars.
5. Many cancer thrivers rely on their jobs for health insurance. I’ve been financially independent since the age of 21, and working while undergoing treatment was my only option. Working while in survivorship continues to be my only option. Although I’m grateful for my insurance and have zero debt, I’m extremely tired. I worked throughout chemo, took a few weeks off to recover from my surgeries, and haven’t stopped working since.
6. Despite how much or little patients pay out-of-pocket, overall healthcare costs are expensive in the United States.
Breast regards,
Michelle
P.S. I am just sharing my personal experience and want to reiterate that insurance benefits and out-of-pocket costs vary per person.
