Paying for treatment of major conditions or diseases, such as cancer, may qualify you for financial assistance from your state’s Medicaid program, although gaining that help is likely to be a complicated process.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, because like Erica Olenksi, a patient advocate and healthcare communications strategist, you or your family member just might gain access to coverage of costs that otherwise would be overwhelming.
Olenski shared the knowledge she gained after caring for her son August, who was diagnosed with pediatric cancer at just five months old.
Olenski applied for and was granted a Medicaid waiver on behalf of August in her home state of Texas, where the program for such care is called the Medically Dependent Children’s Program (MDCP).
“That gave him access to Medicaid benefits, which were a huge, huge lifesaver for us because there’s no private plan that would have been able to really endure what we needed to financially through that,” Olenski said.
That said, Olenski had to jump through a number of hoops to qualify that could have easily tripped her up, although she was getting guidance from a social worker affiliated with one of her son’s providers.
“In the MDCP waiver program, for example, there’s about... 10 or so clinical diagnoses that you need two of which to meet the criteria for the waiver program itself,” she said.
And part of the contingency in getting Medicaid access was actually having an overnight stay at a skilled nursing facility (SNF).