Why Is Mesothelioma Financial Support Important?
When you’re diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, your life changes. In addition to receiving potentially challenging cancer treatments, you’ll also have to consider affording your medical care costs. In light of this, financial aid can help take some of the burdens off you and your loved ones.
Mesothelioma financial assistance can:
- Cover the high costs of medical treatment, including travel bills
- Compensate for lost wages if you and your loved ones can’t work
- Pay for basic living expenses, including car payments, utilities, and rent
- Protect your family’s future if you pass away
Understanding your financial aid options for mesothelioma can help you prepare for the expected and unexpected expenses that may pop up as you seek treatment.
Mesothelioma Financial Assistance Options
Mesothelioma Insurance Claims
Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance plans can help you afford mesothelioma treatment.
Before seeking treatment, check with your health insurance provider to help you understand what is covered in your plan and how much you should expect in co-pays. There should be no gaps in coverage, as this could lead to out-of-pocket costs.
Keep track of medical bills, insurance claims, and prescription records to resolve possible billing errors or disputes.
Housing and Travel Grants
Even if your insurance plan covers treatments, you may have to travel to access them if there is no mesothelioma specialist close to where you live. Out-of-pocket travel expenses can add up quickly, but you may be able to get reimbursed through grants.
Mesothelioma travel grants can cover:
- Fares for cabs, taxis, and Uber/Lyft rides
- Gas costs
- Hotel stays for you and your family
- Ticket costs for travel by airplane, bus, or train
Cancer organizations like the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) provide travel grants for qualifying applicants. Additionally, your travel expenses may be reimbursed if you’re seeking a mesothelioma treatment option from a VA doctor.
To ensure you get the best value from a travel grant, check to see what expenses will be covered before applying.
VA Benefits
If you are a veteran with mesothelioma, you can pursue financial help from the VA. You may be able to receive free or low-cost mesothelioma cancer care through the VA Health Care System.
Other VA benefits that provide financial aid include:
- Disability compensation
- Pensions
- Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)
- VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (VA DIC)
To access VA benefits, you must show that you were exposed to asbestos during military service and that this caused you to develop mesothelioma later in life.
Asbestos Trust Funds
The U.S. court system forced asbestos product manufacturers who avoided lawsuits by filing for bankruptcy to deposit money in special trusts so that current and future victims of their asbestos exposure could receive compensation.
Over $30 billion has been set aside in asbestos trust funds. If you qualify, you can receive a portion of this money.
Get your Free Mesothelioma Survivors Guide and see how 7 patients were able to afford treatments that helped them become survivors.
Mesothelioma Lawsuits
If an asbestos company does not have a trust fund, you may be able to file a lawsuit against it. Most mesothelioma lawsuits are settled out of court for around $1 million to $1.4 million, allowing you to receive compensation without an in-person trial.
Working with a mesothelioma lawyer can help eliminate the hassle of filing a lawsuit. Your lawyer will handle most of the work that comes with the case while you focus on your health and well-being.
“Many of my patients who have settlements have said to me, ‘That’s my bankroll. That is to make sure that whatever it is I need, I can afford to do to take care of myself.’”
Mesothelioma Financial Aid Organizations
Some of the world’s leading cancer organizations provide financial aid to those with mesothelioma and other types of cancer.
Groups that offer mesothelioma financial assistance include:
- American Cancer Society
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- CanCare
- Cancer and Careers
- Cancer Care
- Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition
- Cancer Research Institute
- Cancer Support Community
- Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
- National Cancer Institute
- Pacific Mesothelioma Center
Reach out to these organizations to learn if you can get mesothelioma financial support during your cancer fight. You can also connect with a medical social worker to find local groups that offer financial aid.
Steps To Receive Mesothelioma Financial Assistance
You shouldn’t have to invest much time and energy into seeking financial help during your cancer battle.
Below, we’ve laid out the basic steps of pursuing financial aid after a mesothelioma diagnosis. If you have additional questions or would like to begin this process, our team of Patient Advocates is available 24/7 to provide information and support.
1. Contact Our Team
- Visit our contact page
- Use our online chat option
When you reach out to us, we can help determine your eligibility for mesothelioma financial assistance through a lawsuit, asbestos trust, or the VA. There is no cost to contact our team.
2. We Help You Build Your Case
After you call, our legal team will evaluate the specifics of your claim and start building your case. We will then file the claim on your behalf, ensuring that you and your family won’t be burdened during this process.
3. You Get Financial Aid
After the claim is filed, you will be updated as financial aid is awarded. You’ll likely start to receive compensation within 90 days. Additionally, you may get money from multiple sources, such as asbestos trust funds and the VA, depending on the nature of your case.
Get a Free Legal Consultation with top mesothelioma law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy.
Access Mesothelioma Financial Assistance
If you or someone you love has mesothelioma, you shouldn’t worry about medical bills and other expenses. Mesothelioma financial assistance can help cover your care costs, keeping you and your family economically secure for years to come.
Request your Free Mesothelioma Survivors Guide and see how 7 mesothelioma patients obtained the financial assistance that helped them become survivors.
Mesothelioma Financial Support FAQs
How much does it cost to treat mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma treatment costs vary depending on the type of treatment and various other factors.
Treatments can cost more than $400,000. That number does not include other expenses, such as traveling to a cancer center if one isn’t located near you or paying for hotel stays.
How much are mesothelioma settlements?
Most mesothelioma settlements fall in the range of $1 million to $1.4 million.
This money allows mesothelioma victims to not only get treatment but take care of their family at this stressful and uncertain time.
