Marisol was enjoying her busy life in Salt Lake City. At age 50, she was going strong working as a bilingual customer care agent for the power company and going to the gym whenever she could. Best of all, she loved taking care of her daughter and adorable 5-year-old grandson.
“I helped get my grandson out of bed every day and get him ready for school.”
But after a stage 3 cancer diagnosis, Marisol and her family were losing steam.
“I used to work 20 hours of overtime each week, which was great to help make ends meet. Now I can only work partially. My paycheck is half of what it used to be.”
“I had to stop paying some of our most basic bills.”
Even though Marisol expected the hospital bill that was coming, she knew her already tight budget would not cover a $3500 speed bump. She thought to herself, “What am I going to do? I don’t qualify for Medicaid, but I need help.”
Even with her parents and older sons chipping in, Marisol still had to make deep cuts to their budget.
“The hospital didn’t give me any information about reducing my debt,” Marisol said. “I was going to contact the hospital myself, but I knew I would have to jump through hoops, submit appeals and still, there would be no guarantee.”
Marisol was still coping with debilitating cancer symptoms, like neuropathy. “Even opening doors or washing my hands is really hard.” She got discouraged.
Fortunately, however, Marisol was getting treatment at the Utah Cancer Center, and the Center gave her a patient advocate, which was a huge help. The advocate gave Marisol a list of resources, and that’s where she found Dollar For.
“I knew Dollar For was a reputable organization since I got it from the patient advocate.”
“It was super easy to fill out the Dollar For application. I just uploaded the requested documents and a month later got an email saying “’Congratulations! My whole bill was paid off.’ I was in complete disbelief! I even called the hospital to see if it was true.”
It was true. The hospital confirmed the bill had been paid. Marisol’s hospital bill had a zero balance. “I was so grateful to get the help. It was a huge relief. With this money back, I can stay afloat.”
Marisol told as many people as she could. “My friend’s husband passed away after a long illness and they were left with a lot of debt. I told them to contact Dollar For immediately.”
“Thank you, Dollar For. It means a lot to get this support when you are going through so much.”
Now Marisol can forget her hospital debt and focus on what truly matters: her family and her health.