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cupcakez
cupcakez Member Posts: 28
edited February 2017 in Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues

I was just diagnosed recently and have not been scheduled for surgery yet. The surgeon said I will need lumpectomy + radiation. I'm an independent contract without any private insurance. Do I qualify for any type of short term disability benefits? Do most people work during radiation treatments? TY

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  • cive
    cive Member Posts: 709
    edited February 2017

    Yes most people are able to work during radiation, it just takes approximately 1/2 to 1 hour a day for the radiation depending on how far you have to drive.  That will last from two weeks to a month.  It is unfortunate that you did not apply to the ACA while it was still open to enrollment.  The cut off date was about 2 weeks ago. 

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  • rainnyc
    rainnyc Member Posts: 1,289
    edited February 2017

    I'm so sorry that you're in this position. I'm a long-time freelancer and so is my husband.

    Cive is right in that open enrollment for the ACA ended on January 31, unless you can prove you have a qualifying life event, i.e. divorce, marriage, job loss, a move to a new state. Here's an explanation of qualifying life events:

    https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-e...

    I don't think short term insurance is designed for situations such as yours, and it's hard to see that you could get it after a diagnosis (if I'm wrong, please correct me).

    You don't say where you live, but Freelancers Union (which used to have its own insurance company) has an intriguing solution that might possibly help, if your income is high enough. I think it's primarily for New Yorkers, but it's certainly possible this might be available in other areas. Go here for more information: https://www.freelancersunion.org/health/details/36...

    Finally, I know that in my own state of New York, it used to be possible to get insurance through some professional groups/unions. This is no longer the case, but I'm not sure this is true everywhere. It's certainly worth investigating if it means that you might avoid the extremely high cows of covering cancer without insurance.

    Good luck!


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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited February 2017

    Sorry this has happened. Some states have special programs for people with breast cancer. You might want to contact the surgeon's office and ask for the number of the hospital's social worker, who should be able to help you identify your options. Some cancer support organizations also help patients understand the options for funding. FWIW, I had the same treatment as you. For the most part I was fine during rads, though the fatigue caught up with me the last two weeks (and lingered for a couple weeks). Not sure if you're planning to take an estrogen blocker later, but your insurance could help with that too. Good luck!

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  • cupcakez
    cupcakez Member Posts: 28
    edited February 2017

    ty all for your responses. Looks likeI'll need to get in touch with a social worker n find out more.

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