Lung Cancer Financial Help and Support.

Anyone struggling with a severe medical condition knows that health insurance doesn’t cover all costs. In the United States, even with government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, you may still face significant out-of-pocket expenses.

However, what most people don’t know is that a life insurance policy is considered an asset that you own, meaning insurance policy holders can sell their life insurance for a lump-sum cash payment, also known as a viatical settlement.

With a viatical settlement, the funds are tax-free and non-regulated, meaning YOU decide how they are spent.

Not only can you pay towards your medical expenses, but also towards the cost of living expenses, or even a luxurious vacation with your loved ones. As the settlement holder, the freedom and the choice is uniquely yours!

In some cases, individuals can receive 70% of their life insurance policy in as little as 2 weeks with a viatical settlement!

How it works: Unlike life settlements, viatical settlements are designed for life insurance policyholders with life-threatening illnesses, reduced life expectancies, or chronic health issues.

Lung cancer patients with life insurance policies can enter agreements with third-party buyers to sell their life insurance policy in return for a lump-sum payment (more than the cash value of the life insurance policy, but less than the death benefit).

The life settlement company takes over by paying the monthly insurance policy premiums, and receives the death benefit after the seller’s passing.

If you’re considering selling your life insurance policy, American Life Fund is here to help. For us, the most important thing is alleviating the financial burden associated with lung cancer care, reducing stress, and enabling you to spend more time on the things that matter.

Through our hassle-free application process, American Life Fund will help you get an immediate cash offer for your insurance policy.

There are a multitude of organizations that offer free money to lung cancer patients. This type of financial assistance is also known as a lung cancer-specific financial grant.

While some grants are generalized and open to applicants with all cancer types, others are specific to lung cancer. The best place to search for financial grants you may qualify for is online and through your local nonprofit organizations.

When looking online, try searching for “lung cancer financial grants”, as well as the more general but still applicable “cancer financial grants”. The best part about cancer financial grants is that they are free money, and don’t come with strings attached.

Although it can be time-consuming to locate grants, the time invested can pay for itself. When it comes to financial grants, the most challenging part is locating an organization that still has funding available. Don’t be discouraged–remember, persistence is key and resources are out there.

The following organizational funds offer financial assistance in the form of grants to lung cancer patients in need:

• PAN Foundation Lung Cancer Fund
• Allyson Whitney Foundation Grant (must be 18-36 years old to be eligible)
• Healthwell Foundation Small Cell Lung Cancer Medicare Access Fund (this is a copay fund that is only eligible to Medicare patients)
• The Assistance Fund: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Copay Program
• Cancer Lifeline Patient Financial Assistance Fund
• The COC Dollars Allocated to Assist Grant Fund
• American Cancer Society Fund
• National Cancer Assistance Foundation Fund (patients in the following states are not eligible: AR, IA, MI, OR)

Also check out these great resources:

• Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition (this is a tool that connects cancer patients with financial assistance resources, based on geographic location and diagnosis)
• Triage Cancer and Needymeds (these organizations maintain a long running list of financial assistance resources for cancer patients)

With the cost of cancer medications rising, many patients feel concerned about how to afford treatment.

Thankfully, programs like PPA (Partnerships for Prescription Assistance) and Rx Outreach can help by providing free money to lung cancer patients, in the form of free or reduced cost prescriptions.

Their easy to use online websites provide a list of multiple prescription assistance programs that you may qualify for as a lung cancer patient.

Another resource offering financial assistance for lung cancer patients is Needy Meds. Needy Meds offers a free Drug Discount Card, which provides savings of up to 80% on prescription medications.

If a medication is not covered by your insurance, or if your insurance has a high deductible, fear not–you can use your Drug Discount Card to help pay for prescriptions.

Also, the Medicine Assistance Tool can help lung cancer patients to locate additional resources for prescription assistance.

When dealing with lung cancer, the last thing you should have to worry about is the price of gas; however, as trips to treatment centers increase, so does the cost of transportation. Gas can be EXPENSIVE (especially if you live somewhere like California)– so why pay for it if you don’t have to?

Tenaciously Teal is a great organization that helps lung cancer patients by providing gift cards for both gas and groceries. Additionally, NeedyMeds and Mercy Medical Angels offer financial assistance for medical transportation and necessary travel expenses.

If you like freebies (because who doesn’t?), Phil’s Friends and Radiant Hope are two organizations that offer financial assistance in the form of a care package, which contains self-care freebies for those battling lung cancer. on the open market can provide financial peace of mind.

Financial Assistance For Lung Cancer Patients Type #6: Fundraising

One of the quickest, easiest ways to supplement financial assistance for lung cancer patients is fundraising. With a little upfront investment of your time and a good social network, fundraising can be an effective tool for harnessing financial funds.

Online fundraising platforms such as GoFundMe, allow you to post your need/cause and share that need/cause with others. However, the downside is that you only receive a portion of the funds raised.

A second method of fundraising worth considering–and from which you’ll get to keep all profits– is known as a personal fundraiser. With this type– you, your friends, and your family raise funds by offering something to the community, such as a bake sale or car wash, for example. Feel free to check out MedGift Advocacy Services for a whole list of fundraising ideas.

A lung cancer diagnosis is never easy, especially when that diagnosis turns into a financial burden.

In order to try to avoid financial distress, it is important to understand the costs associated with treating lung cancer.

When battling with lung cancer, some of your largest expenses are likely to come from the following: doctor visits, treatment, medication, and transportation/travel.

Doctor Visit Costs: If you’re insured, you’ll likely only have to pay a copay per visit to your doctor; the copay is usually a small fraction of the total overall cost for the visit. If you’re uninsured, you’ll pay more.

Treatment Costs: The primary method of treatment for patients with lung cancer is either surgery to remove the cancerous tissue (non-small cell lung cancer), or radiation and chemotherapy (small-cell lung cancer). For this reason, the type of lung cancer you have and the extent of your treatment will have a direct impact on the financial costs incurred–in other words, the more treatment needed, the more it is likely to cost you.

Medication Costs: While being treated for lung cancer, there are certain medications you’ll need to take. Also, if you’re actively undergoing chemotherapy, that’s another crucial cost you’ll need to consider when opting for financial assistance for treatment.

Transportation/Travel Costs: If you’re being treated for lung cancer at a facility that is not near your home, you’ll be met with the added financial stress of paying for gas and/or the costs of public transportation to get to and from your appointments.

Sound like a lot? The good news is, help is always available–and you deserve it, no matter what your financial situation is. To learn more about how we help lung cancer patients financially, contact us at American Life Fund today!