How I Manage the Cost of My Eczema Treatments

The cost of having a medical illness is expensive. As someone who worked in healthcare before and saw people going to the ER, suffering was the worst. Most people would tend to wait out their illness until they couldn't deal with it anymore. They didn't want to go to the doctor's office due to the cost of a visit. Then they would end up in the emergency room, having to pay double the amount or more.

Assistance programs

From a young age, my mother applied for Medi-Cal, and I have been on it since. I believe you can be on it until you turn the age of twenty-six. In December, I will be turning that age. I have been on it for years now. I have been able to get my doctor's visits, medications, and other expenses like physical therapy covered free of charge. Also, when I was hospitalized for a month, I was not charged anything. If it weren't for Medi-Cal, I would probably be in debt due to medical visits.

Managing eczema in college

As an eczema sufferer, I tend to go to doctor's visits once a month and see my dermatologist once or more. Any little visit like this can be costly, and as a college student, I would not be able to afford it. As a college student, I know when we would pay our tuition fees, we would be obligated to pay for a student health fee. It would cover visits to a physician on campus, and we would just have to pay a small fee for medications. I know many of my classmates would rely on this resource since they didn't have insurance outside of the school system.

Resources for those in need

As a resource coordinator for the county, I have come along with various resources for people who don't have insurance. In my county, there is a clinic that is 100% for uninsured people. It's a resource I would recommend to people if they needed a doctor but did not have the means to see one.

There are also organizations in my county that will hand out free medical supplies to residents in need. For example, they give away free medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and more. Also, they have on-site medical supplies such as Bandaids, wound care, and gloves. Regarding paying for medications, Rite Aid provides a prescription drug card that offers discounts for people. I would also let people know about it if they needed this. I know I would not be able to afford my medications if it wasn't for my insurance. At one point, I was on Dupixent, and that medication is worth about a thousand and more. I would not have been able to afford not even one dose of medication.

Always ask questions!

One thing I always tell people is always ask questions and do some research. Many programs and organizations help people pay for their medications, doctor's visits, and other medical-related costs. I'm always looking for resources since I have always been someone who wasn't economically able to afford these expenses.

How do you juggle the medical system and pay the expenses of it?