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Letter to the editor

10 tips: Get finances in order before hospital stay

By Times Staff
Published August 5, 2007

Whether or not you know it's coming, a hospital stay can lead to some startling reality checks. Beyond medical issues, you and your loved ones also could find yourselves sorting out messy financial issues. To prevent that, consider these tips.

1 Investigate your insurance policy. As far in advance of your hospital visit as possible, clarify which treatments your health insurance will cover. Get approvals as needed, and set aside money for deductibles. Also remember to find out whether your policy has lifetime maximums.

2 Know disability coverage details. Hopefully, you have such coverage through your employer, and ideally you have some supplemental coverage to give you even more protection. If you do have disability insurance, clarify all effective dates as well as your range of benefits.

3 Stay current. Are your premiums all paid up for your health, disability, life and long-term care insurance policies?

4 Appoint a primary contact. Designate a family member or close friend to maintain contact with the rest of your family, your friends and your place of employment during your hospital stay.

5 State desires clearly. Spell out medical wishes in writing via a health care directive, either a living will, which allows you to prescribe which life-saving medical treatments you want to receive, or a durable power of attorney for health care, which also lets you spell out your wishes while giving another person authority to make medical decisions for you if you can't.

6 Think about your accounts. Your health care power of attorney may or may not be the same person you authorize to pay bills. No matter whom you ask to handle your expenses, consider adding his or her name to your checking account or opening a line of credit that he or she can tap into if necessary.

7 Face the situation head-on. Your biggest financial blow may be losing your income. If it becomes impossible for you to go back to work, look into extending your employer's group insurance coverage through the federal program COBRA. But you will have to pay the employer and employee premium shares.

8 Calculate your expenses. Find out what costs commonly are associated with your illness. In many cases, you can contact a disease-specific organization for information and guidance.

9 Remember your estate plan. Before you ever become hospitalized, establish a will or trust to specify how you want your property distributed if you die. You also could use a durable power of attorney to appoint another person to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf.

10 Set up a "disaster file." To help loved ones or your power of attorney find important information, index key paperwork before your hospital stay, including birth, death and marriage certificates; a detailed list of bills that must be paid with due dates; location of wills, trusts and power of attorney documents; health care directives; detailed funeral and burial wishes; a plan for your pets; three years of tax returns; important passwords; and the location of safe deposit box and filing cabinet keys.

[Last modified August 3, 2007, 22:31:29]