Im in trouble!

on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
health card.

when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
this lump is cancer im screwed.

how can a husband divorce a sick wife. i didnt need rad/chemo, which is
a miracle, but im so scared about this new lump.

any suggestions?

On May 15, 9:33 am, candysli...@webtv.net (Candace Slice) wrote:
> on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
> doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
> husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
> im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
> health card.
>
> when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
> contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
> cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
> months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
> have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
> this lump is cancer im screwed.
>
> how can a husband divorce a sick wife. i didnt need rad/chemo, which is
> a miracle, but im so scared about this new lump.
>
> any suggestions?

Candace,
Sorry I haven't time for a proper reply now. Call you husband's
company's HR department & make sure you are eligible for COBRA
continuation coverage. Have the form sent to you. It could be your
ace in the hole if nothing else comes through in time. Can be
expensive, but you'll have a month or 2 before you have to elect. So
you can have the comfort of knowing you can have coverage while you
are working your other lines.

Best of luck to you - I hope for the very best on all fronts,
Figgertoes

"Candace Slice" <candysliced@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:16843-4649D2D6-349@storefull-3134.bay.webtv.net...
> on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
> doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
> husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
> im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
> health card.
>
> when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
> contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
> cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
> months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
> have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
> this lump is cancer im screwed.
>
> how can a husband divorce a sick wife. i didnt need rad/chemo, which is
> a miracle, but im so scared about this new lump.
>
> any suggestions?
>
Here are some options. You really need to contact the lawyer who did your
divorce to see what options are open to you.

1 - Divorce agreements can include a provision for one (ex) spouse to
maintain health insurance for the other. So - contact your divorce atty to
update on your disability, and see if finalization can be postponed. Some
can't, they automatically become final x # of days after final hearing. But
sometimes, courts will step in, if there is an emergency - but your atty
needs to petition the court for it.

2 - If your agreement does not allow this (once agreement and decree final),
spousal maintenance cannot be changed. Only child support, visitation and
custody issues an be changed. So then see if ex will continue the coverage.
If there are kids that he needs to keep on ins., then keeping you on also
shouldn't change his premium. If no kids, you should look into what you can
do to pay the difference in premiums.

3 - COBRA stuff that Figgertoes suggested.

4 - Some states have a disability fund - if you are 100% disabled. It's only
a poverty level existence, but it gets you on state dole and gets you
Medicaid to cover health issues.

5 - Social Security Disability Insurance - (Not my field so this may not be
totally accurate. Please contact Disability rights organization in your
area) Need to have been disabled for certain amt of time already. Takes 18
months or more to qualify and go through appeals (thanks to Pres. Reagan,
just about everyone gets turned down and needs to appeal). Also poverty
level existence but also includes medical coverage. Coverage is retroactive
to application date.

Adelle - (family law atty in her incarnation before kids)

Candace Slice wrote:
> on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
> doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
> husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
> im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
> health card.
>
> when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
> contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
> cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
> months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
> have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
> this lump is cancer im screwed.
>
> how can a husband divorce a sick wife. i didnt need rad/chemo, which is
> a miracle, but im so scared about this new lump.
>
> any suggestions?
>
My first suggestion is to contact social security. If you have
disability through social security you get Medicare along with it no
matter how old you are. If you don't have social security disability get
busy with the paperwork or hire a lawyer who specializes in it. The
lawyer's fee is set by the courts and is a percentage of the award from
when the court determines you were disabled until the judgment is rendered.

My second suggestion is to find a local social service organization, or
even the social services people from the hospital where you will be
having the surgery who might be able to help you with legal advice and
possibly qualify you for Medicaid.

Third suggestion: Have your lawyer petition the court for your husband
to pay for COBRA which is a continuation of the group health plan for 90
days after the divorce. This will keep you on his insurance, hopefully
long enough to get your treatment and your Medicare status through
social security disability.

AS for the checkups, talk to the ENT and see if he/she can discount the
visits. My health insurance only covers $28 of my ENT's $75 charge so he
reduced it to $35 which is what he gets from the insurance companies he
contracts with.

It sounds like you are getting away lucky if you don't need radiation or
chemo. I know this is a difficult time and you are frightened, but there
are resources.

Good luck,

Janet, with half of her tongue gone, too.

--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

Adelle wrote:

>
> 1 - Divorce agreements can include a provision for one (ex) spouse to
> maintain health insurance for the other. So - contact your divorce atty to
> update on your disability, and see if finalization can be postponed. Some
> can't, they automatically become final x # of days after final hearing. But
> sometimes, courts will step in, if there is an emergency - but your atty
> needs to petition the court for it.

Couldn't her attorney file a TRO to keep the divorce from becoming
final? It seems to me that "irreparable harm and damage" will occur if
the decree becomes final before she gets any medical coverage.
>
> 2 - If your agreement does not allow this (once agreement and decree final),
> spousal maintenance cannot be changed. Only child support, visitation and
> custody issues an be changed. So then see if ex will continue the coverage.
> If there are kids that he needs to keep on ins., then keeping you on also
> shouldn't change his premium. If no kids, you should look into what you can
> do to pay the difference in premiums.

Not even on a change of circumstances?



--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

On May 15, 10:46 am, "Adelle" <adNOsta...@SPAMcomcast.net> wrote:
> "Candace Slice" <candysli...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> news:16843-4649D2D6-349@storefull-3134.bay.webtv.net...
>
>
>
> > on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
> > doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
> > husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
> > im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
> > health card.
>
> > when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
> > contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
> > cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
> > months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
> > have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
> > this lump is cancer im screwed.
>
> > how can a husband divorce a sick wife. i didnt need rad/chemo, which is
> > a miracle, but im so scared about this new lump.
>
> > any suggestions?
>
> Here are some options. You really need to contact the lawyer who did your
> divorce to see what options are open to you.
>
> 1 - Divorce agreements can include a provision for one (ex) spouse to
> maintain health insurance for the other. So - contact your divorce atty to
> update on your disability, and see if finalization can be postponed. Some
> can't, they automatically become final x # of days after final hearing. But
> sometimes, courts will step in, if there is an emergency - but your atty
> needs to petition the court for it.
>
> 2 - If your agreement does not allow this (once agreement and decree final),
> spousal maintenance cannot be changed. Only child support, visitation and
> custody issues an be changed. So then see if ex will continue the coverage.
> If there are kids that he needs to keep on ins., then keeping you on also
> shouldn't change his premium. If no kids, you should look into what you can
> do to pay the difference in premiums.
>
> 3 - COBRA stuff that Figgertoes suggested.
>
> 4 - Some states have a disability fund - if you are 100% disabled. It's only
> a poverty level existence, but it gets you on state dole and gets you
> Medicaid to cover health issues.
>
> 5 - Social Security Disability Insurance - (Not my field so this may not be
> totally accurate. Please contact Disability rights organization in your
> area) Need to have been disabled for certain amt of time already. Takes 18
> months or more to qualify and go through appeals (thanks to Pres. Reagan,
> just about everyone gets turned down and needs to appeal). Also poverty
> level existence but also includes medical coverage. Coverage is retroactive
> to application date.
>
> Adelle - (family law atty in her incarnation before kids)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

http://www.ssa.gov/disability/
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10029.html

It can take more documantation to qualify if you have survival
prospects as it sounds like you do. Those I've known with terminal
cancer had no delays or problems. But, mixed blessing...

You can usually set up a telephone interview with the SS rep. The
ones I spoke with were knowledgable & helpful, not spouting
governmentese. But there is a longish wait period from date of
disability for the disability payments & much longer still for
Medicare. If your situation is dire, you may be able to get Medicaid
& some supplemenatary money to live on.

You can also check into food stamps or your local food bank if you are
short of funds, even tremporarily. Most churches or your county/city
can probably point you in the right direction if you need these
resources. This is a good time to conserve your cash & get whatever
help you can.
Fig

Candace Slice wrote:

> on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
> doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
> husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
> im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
> health card.
>
> when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
> contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
> cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
> months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
> have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
> this lump is cancer im screwed.
>
> how can a husband divorce a sick wife. i didnt need rad/chemo, which is
> a miracle, but im so scared about this new lump.
>
> any suggestions?

Candace,
I'm not American, so I trust that you will work on the suggestions made by
the others.
In the meantime, your local ACS (American Cancer Society) might provide
financial assistance for the biopsy (up to $1,000 is what some offices have
helped with). Might require letter from surgeon, as to necessity of biopsy
and that further surgery and/or RT might be required. Official letter you
can provide to the ACS office.

Continue your efforts on the other suggestions though, because you need
health coverage.
J

Candace wrote :

"on march 28th i had surgery for tongue cancer. Recently i went to my ent
doctor and he said he has to biopsy another lump. the problem is my
husband s divorcing me on the 22nd. thus, il be out of health insurance.
im disabled with biolar and for some reason, they have not sent me a
health card.

when we went to the freind of the court the lady said that she was gonna
contact the judge to see if he would postpone the divorce until my
cancer is gone. i need to have checkups once per month with my ent and 3
months checkup with my oncologist. now im really scared that i will not
have any health insurance and i need constant ongoing checkups and if
this lump is cancer im screwed."

Hi Candace,

I just wanted to join in with a hearty "welcome" to this group. I see you've
already been getting some great responses from some of the "pillars" of our
(dare I say "our" ?) group : J., Janet Wilder, Adelle, Figgertoes.

Your circumstances are, to me, scary. To have to deal with these
beauracratic things in the middle of a divorce is difficult enough when the
divorce is "amicable" and in the "best of circumstances."

I hope you will consider at least talking to an attorney re your rights in
the state where you live. Your right to continued health care protection
under Federal law (Cobra) for six months after divorce depending on your
health care plan and coverage (I'm assuming this law hasn't changed in ten
years) is one you should assert strongly.

My thoughts are with you, and my heartfelt best wishes that you enjoy a
peaceful mind, and a clear heart as you survive this uniquely difficult time
of your life.

sincerely, Uncle Sally