FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Many families of children with cancer experience financial difficulties. Even if the family has full medical insurance coverage, they can spend a large portion of their income on co-payments, travel, motels, meals, and other uncovered items. Professional advice can be helpful to negotiate with insurance companies to cover treatment expenses. Families dependent on two incomes or single parent families are likely to experience financial difficulties if a parent must quit their job to care for the child. Help is available for the high cost of bone and stem cell transplants. Chemotherapy drug assistance programs are available. Numerous resources to help families through financial difficulties are listed below.
Looking for Help?
ACCO offers FREE books and resources for children with cancer and their families.
Click on the button to order your free resources!
12 Oaks Foundation
12 Oaks Foundation provides grants for children ages 8-18 to help defray costs related to sports and extra-curricular activities while the family is dealing with the financial hardships of cancer treatment.
B+ Foundation
The B+ Foundation is committed to helping families of critically ill children with financial assistance so they can focus on helping their child get well.
Financial Assistance Programs on the Ped-Onc Resource Center
This site lists organizations that may help with aspects of financial and insurance problems, airline assistance, assistance with drugs, and governmental assistance program.
Review 7/12
A non-profit organization that is a liaison between patient and insurers, employers and creditors to resolve insurance, job discrimination or debt crises.
Review 12/8/02
Ronald McDonald Houses provide free lodging for families of children being treated at many hospitals. This site tells a little about the history of RMD houses, a search database to find a local house, and how one can support the cause.
Review 4/07
Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund
This organization is dedicated to the non-medical uninsured needs of families caring for terminally, critically and chronically ill dependent children through advocacy, financial assistance, education, and informational resources. Because of limited funds they are only accepting applications from social workers in the mid-Atlantic region. However, there is good information on the site information on how to obtain a video called Financial Management During Crisis.
Review 12/8/01
Cancer Fund of America
Provides assistance to defray cancer-related expenses not covered by insurance.
Review 6/13/13
The National Transplant Assistance Fund
Provides experts to help with fundraising for uninsured expenses related to BMT’s.
Review 4/5/02
Consumer Credit Counseling Foundation
A national, nonprofit consumer credit counseling agency that provides 24-hour toll-free telephone credit counseling. Provides help with budgets, payments, and debt collection.
Nonprofit credit counseling agency that offers free debt management and educational programs to help financially distressed families.
National Children’s Cancer Society
Financial assistance programs include: meals during treatment, transportation to and from treatment, long-distance telephone cards, lodging during treatment, health-insurance premiums, and medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Review 8/07
Drug Assistance Programs
An information source in trying to help obtain medications.
Review 4/02
Partnership for Perscription Assistance Ped-Onc Resource Center Financial Assistance Page