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Information about all aspects of finances affected by a serious health condition. Includes income sources such as work, investments, and private and government disability programs, and expenses such as medical bills, and how to deal with financial problems.
Information about all aspects of health care from choosing a doctor and treatment, staying safe in a hospital, to end of life care. Includes how to obtain, choose and maximize health insurance policies.
Answers to your practical questions such as how to travel safely despite your health condition, how to avoid getting infected by a pet, and what to say or not say to an insurance company.

Summary

Work can be the source of benefits to pay medical bills, give you a regular income, and protect what you have accumulated over the years.

If you try to purchase insurance to meet these needs individually, you will likely be subjected to medical underwriting -- the company will look at your health history and decide whether to accept you. If it does accept you, it may decide to charge an increased premium. Of course, you may not qualify at all because of your health condition.

If you obtain these benefits through your employer, there may not be health questions at all -- or only a few of them. When deciding about benefits, consider the following steps:

Step 1. Review your current benefits.

  • To find out what benefits you already have, see your Employee Handbook. If you don't have one, ask for a copy from your employer.
  • If you have not disclosed your health condition at work (in which case we advise you read our article about Disclosure), consider a plausible cover explanation for the request. For example, you could tell your employer that you have an obnoxious (friend)(family member) who is (an insurance person)(a financial planner) who is insisting on reviewing your benefits for you with the hope of selling you something.

Step 2. Decide which benefits are important to you.

 Following are the benefits it is advisable to consider if you don't already have them:

  • Health Insurance: Health Insurance is the most important part of a benefits package since it provides access to health care without bankrupting you.
    • Does your plan provide what you need?
    • Does it allow you to go to the doctors to whom you want to go?
    • Review our section on health insurance for information on Evaluating Health Plans.
    • Thanks to COBRA and COBRA-like state laws, once you get employer based health insurance you are able to keep some form of health coverage for up to 29 months as long as you pay the premiums for it. If you are "disabled" as defined by Social Security when you leave work, at the end of the 29 month period, you qualify for Medicare. If you don't qualify for Medicare, HIPAA also makes sure you can convert your group coverage into individual health insurance.
    • If you don't have health insurance through work, there are other ways to obtain health insurance in spite of your health condition.
    • Also thanks to the federal law HIPAA, if you have health coverage at work, you can probably change jobs and not be subjected to a new pre-existing condition exclusion.
  • Long Term Disability Insurance: Next in importance to health insurance is a steady source of income in case you become unable to work. Trying to get by on just what Social Security pays can be difficult whether it is paid as Social Security Retirement or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). This is particularly the case if you receive money from Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Having a disability policy that adds just a few hundred dollars a month to Social Security can greatly improve your quality of life.
    • Readily offered by many large employers, Long Term Disability Insurance is also available regardless of your health condition when offered by an employer -- although as you'll read in our article on Long Term Disability, you usually need to be covered for twelve months before it covers your current condition.
  • Also consider the following, which are discussed in other sections of this article:

Step 3. If your employer offers more benefits than you currently have: Find out when and how you can request the additional benefits. Perhaps your employer has an open enrollment period every year. To learn more, see Open Enrollment.

If your employer doesn't offer the benefits you need, this may be the time to consider changing jobs to an employer that provides benefits that suit you better. You are protected against job lock: 

  • By the Americans with Disabilities Act so a new employer cannot ask about your health condition.
  • By HIPAA to be sure there are no gaps in your health coverage during a job change if you follow the terms of that law.

To Learn More

Long Term Care Insurance

More employers are including Long Term Care Insurance in their benefits package on an elective basis, either as part of a Cafeteria Plan or as individual coverage paid by payroll deduction.

If your condition is such that it could lead to full-time care in an assisted living facility or in a nursing home, this insurance can be as important as health insurance.

Care in a nursing home that is not geared toward curing you is called "Custodial Care." Health plans and Medicare don't cover it. Other than long term care insurance, the only source of coverage for custodial care is Medicaid which can require you to first use up most of your assets and income.

To Learn More

Dental and Vision Insurance

Although not nearly as important as health insurance, these coverages will do a lot to improve the quality of your life. They often accompany health insurance in an employer's package of benefits.

To Learn More

Life Insurance

Life insurance is no longer only for the people who are left after we're gone. Life insurance, even group life insurance, can provide you with cash while you're alive if you become seriously ill. To learn how life insurance can be used to provide you cash while still alive, click here 

When purchased through an employer's plan, life insurance is usually not expensive.

Get whatever life insurance you can. You can always let it lapse if you don't need it.

To Learn More

Mental Health Coverage or Employee Assistance Plan

Even if you have never needed professional assistance with psychological issues before, a major life change, such as life after a diagnosis, or moving from employment to disability, can have dramatic effects on your psychological health and may require some short term counseling.

To learn more on the psychological impact of leaving work, see Planning for the Possibility of Disability in the Short Term.