Spouse has cancer. Divorce?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always hear stories of people getting cancer and going bankrupt even with insurance. How is this possible with out of pocket maximums? Unless you need a full time caretaker or an experimental treatment, won’t 99% of insured patients just hit their max each year? What am I missing?

You aren’t missing anything. Of course some people can’t afford to pay their max each year or demand some kind of treatment that is not covered. When you dig in, there is always some reason beyond “cancer bankrupted me.” Even if we had to pay the OOP max for both in-network and our-of-network treatment each year, it still would not bankrupt us. I think the other issue is if the sick spouse can’t work and the other spouse isn’t employed or makes too little.

NP. I’m a sahm and before that I was a teacher making 40,000 a year. If my spouse wasn’t able to work due to illness, we’d lose our health insurance and even though I’d of course get a job as quickly as possible we may definitely be in serious financial trouble.

No, you would not lose your health insurance unless he is terminated, and then Cobra kicks in.

Copper is expensive and I don’t think you can get tax subsidies for it. It would make more sense to go on Obamacare and get premiu
tax subsidies.

But FYI in the DC area the Obama care plans are really good but in some states they are not and they might not cover the cancer treatment very well. Like the hospitals and doctors you want to go to might not participate in the plan in red states

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ill spouse qualifies for medicaid after 50% of the couple's assets are spent for their care. No need to divorce. If 505 left for you isn't enough for you, that's being kind of awful.

So, you want OP (presumably the wife, who will left alone to take care of the innocent child / children), to just needlessly piss-away 50 % of the “couples assets” (maybe including 50% of the 529 for the kids college) and only then apply for Medicaid ?

How does that make any sense for her?

If I had a cancer diagnosis right now, I’d immediately begin to think only about what’s financially best for my wife and kids after I’m gone. If that means divorce, then of course I’d do that for my family. It is their best interest that matters most.

that’s what life insurance is for. If you have young children you need it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That post makes no sense. Does the person not have health insurance? Paying for crappy experimental treatments?

Read the thread, this has been covered. It’s the loss of income, particularly if the person is the breadwinner or sole earner. If we lose my income, DH can keep us afloat, the other way around we’d be in the red.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always hear stories of people getting cancer and going bankrupt even with insurance. How is this possible with out of pocket maximums? Unless you need a full time caretaker or an experimental treatment, won’t 99% of insured patients just hit their max each year? What am I missing?

You aren’t missing anything. Of course some people can’t afford to pay their max each year or demand some kind of treatment that is not covered. When you dig in, there is always some reason beyond “cancer bankrupted me.” Even if we had to pay the OOP max for both in-network and our-of-network treatment each year, it still would not bankrupt us. I think the other issue is if the sick spouse can’t work and the other spouse isn’t employed or makes too little.

NP. I’m a sahm and before that I was a teacher making 40,000 a year. If my spouse wasn’t able to work due to illness, we’d lose our health insurance and even though I’d of course get a job as quickly as possible we may definitely be in serious financial trouble.

No, you would not lose your health insurance unless he is terminated, and then Cobra kicks in.

Cobra is paid out of your own pocket. Plus you have to have an employer large enough to qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is sort of ridiculous. If you have a million dollars and a young family, wouldn’t you have both life and health insurance? Not to mention disability insurance. Why would you need Medicaid in this scenario?

Because they don't want to spend their own money caring for the cancer patient. They want the government to pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Responding to OP: consult an attorney affiliated with the National Academy of Elder law Attorneys (NAELA). Medicaid planning is not for amateurs and can backfire spectacularly if mishandled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is sort of ridiculous. If you have a million dollars and a young family, wouldn’t you have both life and health insurance? Not to mention disability insurance. Why would you need Medicaid in this scenario?

Because they don't want to spend their own money caring for the cancer patient. They want the government to pay for it.

No, it's because they only want to spend the cancer patient's retirement savings on the cancer patient's care. Not the well spouse's retirement savings.

That seems perfectly reasonable to me.