What to do when Medicare Advantage is not enough

[Brian Sullivan]

Good morning. My name is Steve, I am 66 years old and a disabled senior citizen who has Medicare Advantage but still need help. I apologize if I have contacted you before but I am frantically typing to find some assistance for our mounting medical and dental bills and sometime my mind doesn't remember who I have contacted. So with that said, Marianne Maltas with NORD suggested I contact you folks to see if you had any programs or suggestions other than Medicare Advantage.
For about 25 years, I have suffered with high cholesterol, high blood pressure and type II diabetes. Luckily, I have great doctors and they have these conditions somewhat under control with medication. Most of the medications have been generic so the cost has been minimal. However, one area that I neglected over the years was my back. I suffer from spinal stenosis, 3 bulging discs and osteoarthritis. In 2017 I had a laminectomy performed which gave me some relief for a few months. But after about 4 months, L4 and L5 collapsed and pinched my sciatic nerve. I suffered through the pain for another 4+ y
ears and in July of 2022 I had the spinal cord stimulator implanted which has given me some sciatic pain relief. But now the arthritis pain has begun to cause major discomfort in my lower back and the doctor has begun an ablation procedure to hopefully give me some pain relief. Needless to say, my back and all the procedures have been a real financial burden on me and my family. As I am retired and supporting a family of 3 on my monthly SS retirement benefit of $2,705.00, extra funds for medical expenses is hard to come by. Currently, I have Medicare Advantage but the out-of-pocket expenses is really becoming a problem. And although we are trying to live on my social security benefit, we do not qualify for charity assistance through most providers due to my retirement (which we ARE NOT drawing from) account. They want me to exhaust my retirement to pay off the medical expenses before they will consider me for financial assistance. I am reaching out to see if you have or know of any organizations / programs that might aid us in helping with the out-of-pocket / co-pay expenses with the treatment for my back condition as Medicare Advantage is not good enough for my needs. Thank you in advance for your time and possible input.

[Erin Robinson]

My disabled daughter needs help paying for her medication. The shots are $252.00 each and she needs 2 shots a month. She is on advantage Medicare Advantage and the above amount is with her insurance. She is mentally ill and the shots were helping, but she was taken off Medicaid when she went onto Medicare. Can you please help her?
Her email address is above. She lives in Cedarhurst, NY. Thank you. Lori