Money worries

I just started dialysis. I worry is my insurance will not be renewed and I will not be able to get coverage anyway else. What do people do in position? Should I go on disability? I have signed my house over to my wife hoping this will allow me to keep my home. I ask the nurse at the dialysis center about the cost and she says not to worry about the money end of it,they never turn anyone away. What do people do?

I’m sure Beth Witten, who is a national expert in this area, will post a response to you, too. But in the meantime, please do not give up a paying job and go on disability if you can still work–even in the best cases, disability only pays about 60% of what you were earning before.

If you started dialysis and have worked enough quarters to qualify for Social Security disability (SSDI), you will get Medicare. With home dialysis (which is what we’re all about here–PD or home HD), Medicare starts on day 1. If you do dialysis in a center, it’s harder to work–and Medicare doesn’t start until the first day of the third full month, leaving you (or your insurance, since you do still have it) with a pretty big bill.

We have a topic of the month article that Beth just wrote about this topic that’s a good place to start. You can read it at: http://www.homedialysis.org/resources/tom/200710/. In the article, it will also tell you how to find a whole booklet we’ve written about paying for kidney disease.