Reaching Out

I am Paula. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease 7 years ago. I am now on Remicade and Imuran. I am also taking Lomotil, which is a godsend, even though it makes me tired. I am finding myself buried in medical bills and really don't know what to do. The way it looks, I will have to file bankruptcy, but I worry that I won't be able to get my Remicade infusions anymore if that happens. Has anyone else found themselves in a similar financial position? Any suggestions? (I sort of veered away from just "My Story" here, but this is what is weighing on my mind right now.)

Hi Paula! Five years ago I was without health insurance and flared - the clinic and hospitals had financial aid offices, and although there was tons of paperwork the aid I was granted helped me tremendously - there is no way I could have paid all those bills without aid!

If you have insurance, it looks like there is still financial aid to help with what insurance doesn't cover - check out this thread: http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=65781

I don't know much about remicade, but I know they offer financial aid. Here's the remi subforum: http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58 If you "Search this Forum" for "financial aid" it will pull up a bunch of threads.

Hoping that your clinic/hospital/etc will be able to help you! Don't hesitate to ask about financial aid - all the aid counselors I worked with were wonderful to me!

Thanks, I will look into those options

Hi Paula. Sending you my support.

you should be able to get on apple health (Washington's health exchange)
I'll know more on how much they will cover soon. It looks like they will cover remicade

paula7574 said:

I am Paula. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease 7 years ago. I am now on Remicade and Imuran. I am also taking Lomotil, which is a godsend, even though it makes me tired. I am finding myself buried in medical bills and really don't know what to do. The way it looks, I will have to file bankruptcy, but I worry that I won't be able to get my Remicade infusions anymore if that happens. Has anyone else found themselves in a similar financial position? Any suggestions? (I sort of veered away from just "My Story" here, but this is what is weighing on my mind right now.)

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Yes. I spent eleven days in the hospital without insurance and ended up having to go bankrupt. It didn't interfere with my getting Remicadee, but I was also on a program where I was getting it for free (and that took several months to get).