Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of articles written by San Antonio anesthesiologist Jay Ellis, MD, a member of the Bexar County Medical Society Communications/Publications Committee. The series, published monthly in San Antonio Medicine, examines the physical, emotional, financial and spiritual burden of life-threatening illness. Check out parts I, II, III, and IV.
What does it cost to get sick? It costs a lot. Here is a breakdown of just some of our expenses during the first six months of my illness.
MEDICAL COSTS
There is a commonly accepted belief that medical costs are the primary cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Whether or not that statement is true depends on how you define the cause of bankruptcy. It is true that medical bills and serious illness are a major factor in bankruptcies for many people. Whether or not they are the primary cause in the majority of cases depends on how you define your terms. I don’t want to debate the issue, but let’s say that if your finances are precarious, a major illness will push you over the edge. Why? Let’s review my costs.
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It is easy to see how serious illness could devastate the financial reserves of some people. Medical bills alone can be overwhelming, especially if you have a high-deductible policy and you happen to have an illness that covers two calendar years. In that situation you could end up paying $10,000 before insurance pays a dime. I remember waiting for my chemotherapy appointment and seeing the faces of people emerging from the financial counselor’s office. Having a life-threatening illness and facing bankruptcy at the same time seems an unbelievably cruel predicament.
MISSING WORK
Working half-time does not result in half the pay. As every business owner knows, you work most of the month to pay expenses and taxes. The last week of the month represents your profit, and if you miss that week, there is no profit. I watched my paychecks gradually dwindle in size until it reached they nadir of $236 for one month. It reminded me of my days pumping gas in high school. This is when disability insurance proves critical. I have friends who don't have disability insurance because it is too expensive. It is expensive, but not having it may prove catastrophic.
When I became ill, I spoke to people in my group who faced disability. David Davis was a great source of advice. He told me that waiting too long to file for disability is a serious mistake. Insurance companies base your replacement income on your current earnings. The definition of the time period used in the earnings calculation is specified in the disability policy. He advised me to file right away when I was first diagnosed, which I did. I claimed disability from the day of my first chemotherapy. It would prove to be a wise decision. With all disability policies there is a waiting period. I had three policies, two with a three-month waiting period and one with a six-month waiting period. My first payments from the three-month policies would coincidentally begin the month I had to stay home.
I heard horror stories of insurance companies denying payment, or reducing payment because of problems proving income. My insurance carriers were helpful and empathetic. They tried to make the application process easy, but they do require a mountain of paperwork. I had to produce five years of income tax returns, with all schedules. I had to produce productivity data for 12 months from my practice. Fortunately my group, Tejas Anesthesia, was invaluable. They produced reports without any effort on my part, and all I had to do was stand at Kinko's for one hour copying tax returns.
It was fortunate that I was still well enough to accomplish these tasks. I asked my wife, Merrill, what she would have done had I not been able to do this, and she gave the right answer. She would speak to our administrator, John Spiekerman. If she had problems with insurance she would talk to my office manager, Marta Reyna. Those were good answers, but I still made sure she understood where I kept all the insurance documents and contact phone numbers. Another advantage I have is a military pension. It really is a form of disability insurance, in that it pays throughout the lifetime of the veteran, whether you are employed or not. We never had a time when there wasn't at least some money coming in. I wouldn't want to live on my military pension, but it helped keep us afloat in those months before the disability insurance payments kicked in.
Personal savings are essential to weather a serious illness. The light bill, the mortgage payment, the car payment, the medical insurance payment, and any other expenses you might have still come when you are ill. Merrill and I put away a considerable amount in savings, one year’s living expenses. We didn't do this because we thought one of us might become ill. We did it because I was afraid that after retirement, the U.S. military might call me back, and we would have to exist on my Air Force salary. Having a cash cushion kept us from having to worry about money while we were also worrying about my illness.
SAVING YOUR PRACTICE
Even with disability insurance, personal savings, and the luxury of a military pension, I still wondered if I would have a practice to which I could return. I realized that though I was sick, other people’s lives would go on. My patients would still need care, my referring doctors would still need help, and the surgeons I worked with in the operating room would still need coverage. It was at this time that I began to fully appreciate what a wise choice I made in joining Tejas Anesthesia. My partners in my pain practice, Jim Growney, Tim Orihel, and Arnold DeLeon, saw all my patients and made sure that they had uninterrupted care. My office staff was instrumental in explaining my predicament to my patients, and my patients’ loyalty was overwhelming. I cannot count how many other members of Tejas Anesthesia offered to back me up if I wanted to take call or provide relief if I got tired while in the OR. Before I became deathly ill, Vanessa Weems, who does our scheduling, would offer me stipend work if extra shifts became available. Without their support I would have had to rebuild my practice from scratch, hustling like a new grad, except now I’m 58 years old and recovering from a serious illness. That is not a pretty picture.
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Tejas Anesthesia staff include (seated from left) Jennifer Villanueva, Darla Herlitz, Heidi Barrera, and (standing from left) Jo Ann Morris and Marta Reyna. Courtesy photo |
In retrospect, I realize that we were quite blessed to get through the financial part of this illness so well. As a physician, I have many advantages not available to the average person. While I would like to say that I made a great financial plan that saved us, the truth is many of the decisions I made were never done with the thought there would come a time I couldn’t work. Like many doctors, I considered myself invincible, dare I say, indestructible. I will never hold that belief again.
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Tejas Anesthesia physicians include (from left) Drs. Timothy S. Orihel, Jay Ellis, Arnold DeLeon, and James L. Growney. Courtesy photo |
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