Paying for health coaching:
While I am unable to currently accept health insurance to cover my services (but hope to in the future!), FSA and HSA funds can be used to cover health coaching services. Call your FSA or HSA contractor for further information on the procedure; this usually requires a letter submitted by your physician to the FSA or HSA detailing your need. From there, funds can be released and paid directly to me at the time of contracting.
Non-Profits & Helpful Orgs
Many organizations exist to assist with medical bill payment. While not all are created equal, I endeavor to share the best out there. Here are my top two:
Dollar For (dollarfor.org): Founded by Jared Walker in response to the health crises and subsequent medical bills heaped upon friends and family, Dollar For is almost entirely volunteer-led, and exists to bridge a major gap under the ACA (Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare): the enforcement of hospital charity care policies. Under the ACA, many hospitals operate as non-profits and are required to forgive medical bills for individuals and families under certain financial circumstances. To find out if you or a loved one qualifies, fill out the inquiry form on their website and connect to someone who can help you wipe out that bill! Dollar For has helped people recoup MILLIONS in medical debt, one bill at a time.
Good Days (mygooddays.org): Another wonderful non-profit that helps patients cover the cost of medical care. Applications can be found on the website.
The Assistance Fund (TAF): TAF's mission is to help insured people with life-changing diseases overcome the financial barriers preventing them from accessing treatment. They are an independent charitable patient assistance organization that helps patients and families facing high medical out-of-pocket costs by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses (including medication costs). Since 2009, TAF has helped over 210,000 people access critical treatment for life-changing diseases.
PAN Foundation: The PAN (Patient Advocate Network) Foundation accelerates access to affordable, equitable healthcare through financial assistance, advocacy, and education. They help with out-of-pocket expenses for over 70 chronic and rare diseases, including travel, medication, and insurance costs.
Patient Advocate Foundation grants: The Patient Advocate Foundation not only lists professionally certified patient advocates on its database so you can find someone to help you, but they also provide grants and offer short-term relief from the cost of items like transportation, medical debt, utilities, and even emergency food needs.
Modest Needs: While you need to be on disability in order to apply for these grants, Modest Needs is a non-profit offering small amounts to cover rent, bills, and even prescription costs for patients.
Alternate suggestions to cover expenses:
ALWAYS ask for cash rates when given a practitioner quote (sometimes cash pay can reduce costs)
If you have an outstanding bill but can only pay partially, make an offer to collections/financial departments. “I can pay X amount today if you’re willing to consider us even.”
If diagnosed with a specific condition, seek non-profits that are specific to your needs and find out if they offer medial (or other) bill pay assistance! For example: if you are diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and struggling to cover expenses, find a thyroid-related, autoimmune, or hypothyroidism-related non-profit and find out if any of those organizations offers assistance with bills. Sometimes one condition can fall under multiple categories (fibromyalgia, as another example, might fall under chronic pain, autoimmune, or rheumatic disease, for instance). Keep that in mind and make it a priority to learn as much as you can about your specific diagnosis in order to know where to look for help. (Knowledge is power.)
- Lauren xoxo
