Hi everyone, I am unfortunately facing a difficult situation parallel to the one posted about four months ago here:
My heart goes out to anyone dealing with something similar.
In brief, my mother (early 70s, married, resident of California) recently had some blood tests and an MRI that indicate cancer, and although it hasn’t been formally diagnosed yet, the doctors have been pretty grim. They think it’s stage four but aren’t yet sure what kind, maybe multiple myeloma; more tests including a CAT scan will happen next week.
My mom has Medicare Part A and B but no supplemental insurance – obviously I really wish I’d asked her and my dad about their insurance before this happened and convinced them to sign up for more complete coverage, but they seem not to have fully understood how the system works and thought they had good coverage. It wasn’t until I looked into it myself that I realized they should have signed up for supplemental insurance a long time ago. So, lesson learned. I’m wondering what our remaining options are in terms of getting her more complete coverage for a scenario involving catastrophic medical bills in the future.
I’d appreciate any thoughts or advice on these questions:
• My mom applied for AARP/UHC Supplemental Insurance a day or two before the doctor mentioned the possibility of cancer, when she thought she just had a bad hip. So my understanding is that she would at this time have been able to truthfully answer the “deal breaker” questions about major health problems in the negative. But unfortunately, she didn’t fill out that part of the form and now I’ve got to fax in a replacement form to get it processed. There’s a question about whether a health professional has diagnosed or offered treatment for cancer. The fact is, we have no firm diagnosis yet, just fears and suspicions. Should I just give up on this option since I am 99% she’ll get a cancer diagnosis in the next couple weeks, or is it still viable?
• I talked to a social worker who recommended my mom try to apply for Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) via something called a MSSP waiver. My parents have a (mortgaged) house and a car but are low income since they’re now retired (somewhere between 20k and 30k annual income). They do have a small amount of savings (<100k) but I’m told that there are some options for waiving that or putting it in a trust or something along those lines – my sibling is disabled so they would gladly put their entire savings in a trust for him if that’s viable in terms of getting their assets below the Medi-Cal cutoff. I’m starting to think this is our best option and would welcome any advice from people who have gone down this path, specifically about whether Medi-Cal actually helps much with cancer costs.
• Any other options for getting her more coverage that I don’t know about? Other things I should know? I’m planning to talk to a Medicare advisor about this, as well as the social worker at the hospital where my mom has been going for tests.
Thanks in advice for your help.
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Hi everyone, I am unfortunately facing a difficult situation parallel to the one posted about four months ago here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/comments/i1gz2n/medicare_supplemental_insurance_for_upcoming/ My heart goes out to anyone dealing with something similar. In brief, my mother (early 70s, married, resident of California) recently had some blood tests and an MRI that indicate cancer, and although it hasn’t been formally diagnosed yet, the doctors have been pretty grim. They think it’s stage four but aren’t yet sure what kind, maybe multiple myeloma; more tests including a CAT scan will happen next week. My mom has Medicare Part A and B but no supplemental insurance – obviously I really wish I’d asked her and my dad about their insurance before this happened and convinced them to sign up for more complete coverage, but they seem not to have fully understood how the system works and thought they had good coverage. It wasn’t until I looked into it myself that I realized they should have signed up for supplemental insurance a long time ago. So, lesson learned. I’m wondering what our remaining options are in terms of getting her more complete coverage for a scenario involving catastrophic medical bills in the future. I’d appreciate any thoughts or advice on these questions: • My mom applied for AARP/UHC Supplemental Insurance a day or two before the doctor mentioned the possibility of cancer, when she thought she just had a bad hip. So my understanding is that she would at this time have been able to truthfully answer the “deal breaker” questions about major health problems in the negative. But unfortunately, she didn’t fill out that part of the form and now I’ve got to fax in a replacement form to get it processed. There’s a question about whether a health professional has diagnosed or offered treatment for cancer. The fact is, we have no firm diagnosis yet, just fears and suspicions. Should I just give up on this option since I am 99% she’ll get a cancer diagnosis in the next couple weeks, or is it still viable? • I talked to a social worker who recommended my mom try to apply for Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) via something called a MSSP waiver. My parents have a (mortgaged) house and a car but are low income since they’re now retired (somewhere between 20k and 30k annual income). They do have a small amount of savings (<100k) but I’m told that there are some options for waiving that or putting it in a trust or something along those lines – my sibling is disabled so they would gladly put their entire savings in a trust for him if that’s viable in terms of getting their assets below the Medi-Cal cutoff. I’m starting to think this is our best option and would welcome any advice from people who have gone down this path, specifically about whether Medi-Cal actually helps much with cancer costs. • Any other options for getting her more coverage that I don’t know about? Other things I should know? I’m planning to talk to a Medicare advisor about this, as well as the social worker at the hospital where my mom has been going for tests. Thanks in advice for your help.
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