Financial Toxicity

What is financial toxicity?

Financial toxicity as a former caregiver to my husband who had multiple myeloma.

And as a financial advisor, I feel it is very important to share information that will be invaluable to you as you go through your journey.

My goal today is that we introduce you to a relatively new term—financial toxicity, what it means, and how to mitigate the potential damage it can cause.

In medicine, it is used to describe problems a patient has related to the cost of treatment.

Financial toxicity is also called economic burden, economic hardship, financial burden, financial distress, and financial stress.

Cancer patients are more likely to have financial toxicity than people without cancer simply because of the duration and complexity of the disease.

In fact, studies have shown that people diagnosed with cancer are two and a half times more likely to declare bankruptcy than those without cancer.

Additionally, financial toxicity can cause treatment non-adherence and lifestyle changes that negatively affect the quality of life and increase morbidity and mortality.

But why is the topic of financial toxicity important for every one of you?

Cancer care is complicated, expensive, and it often requires long-term treatment.

Therefore, it is imperative that you start planning as soon as possible for the financial and time commitments that are involved.

Even if you are well into the process, there are still things you can do to mitigate financial toxicity.

Many families are embarrassed to talk about money, after all.

Finances aren't something we are readily willing to share with anyone.

And less than 40% of doctors even ask patients about their financial ability to cover the cost of cancer care.

Therefore, it is very important to ask upfront about the cost of treatment.

Don't wait until you are at a financial crisis.

It is a fact that none of us know what changes may be coming from new laws that will affect the cost of care.

This makes it important for you to know ahead of time options that you currently have or may have available should coverage change.

So, keeping in mind that there are some things you cannot control, let's review some of the things that you can.

Understand your diagnosis and the current treatment plan, as well as the possible duration of your treatment plan.

Talk to your doctor, the social worker, and/or patient advocate.

Find out what the treatment plan will be and the associated cost.

Then call your insurance company.

Again, keep notes as to whom you spoke with—their name, date, and time, and what you spoke about.

You may have to refer to this later.

What kind of medical insurance do you have?

Private pay? Employer plan? Medicare? Medicaid?

What do they cover?

What are your co-pays and deductibles?

Do you have the option to change insurance plans to get better coverage based on your treatment plan?

Consider enrolling on your spouse's employer plan or consider your state insurance exchange plans.

Do you need to review your Medicare plan or possibly add a supplemental plan?

If you have terminated or plan to terminate employment due to your illness, will you have the option to enroll in COBRA?

Do you understand COBRA and the associated cost?

Do you have options outside of COBRA?

If you're currently employed, do you have disability insurance through your employer that will replace a portion of your income in the event you need to take off time due to an illness?

Disability insurance provided through your employer is generally taxed because the employer is picking up the bulk of the premium.

If you do not have a plan, you may be able to enroll in one at your employer's next enrollment period.

Most employers offer short-term and/or long-term disability.

Usually, the short-term starts from the first day of disability and goes for a few months or more.

If you have a long-term disability policy, it will start after the short-term has ended.

Employer-provided disability will be taxed at your income tax rate.

Rarely does a short or long-term disability plan offer more than 66% of your income.

These plans may also coordinate with Social Security disability.

Do you have a private disability insurance plan?

If so, the income benefit to you is not taxed.

The great thing about this is you will be replacing more of your income because you are paying the premium.

All of these offer protections for you that are important options to protect you from financial toxicity.