How Crohn's Has Given Me Financial Concerns

I was diagnosed with Crohn's right after I finished my master's degree. I was making less than $15,000 a year, but I had benefits. I had enough insurance, paid for by my employer, to cover the testing and the medications that I needed at the time. After one initial flare, my Crohn's went into a fairly long remission.

It came back with a vengeance some ten years later, in my second year at a much better job. Again, thankfully, I had benefits. They covered more testing, more medications, short term disability, and then - then I went on long-term disability. Most of my income is from Social Security. My employer when I became disabled provides some prescription, dental, and vision insurance, and limited medical insurance; the rest is covered by Medicare, more or less.

It was a huge financial blow to me. Not long after going on disability, my marriage dissolved, and I was left with a house and a big mortgage payment, and a single, and much smaller, income to pay for everything. Even with insurance, there are co-payments for all things medical. I wouldn't give up my dogs, and while they come with fewer expenses than children, they still come with expenses like food, vet care and the occasional stay at "dog camp" (a good kennel) when I'm too sick to care for them properly, or spending time in the hospital.

I was living in Nevada then, and housing prices had gone up since I'd purchased the home I was in, so I decided that since my husband was gone, and most of my family was in North Dakota where the cost of living is relatively low, the best thing for me to do was to sell my home and move. Thanks to a small inheritance from my late parents, I was able to buy a small home in Bismarck. My oldest sister, an aunt, two cousins, and several good friends from high school and college still live here, so I have a better support system than I did in Nevada, and the medical care here is actually among the best in the country.

Things have changed, though. My income is less than half of what it was when I was working, and had I continued in that job, that income would be tripled by now. My income has increased only by the small cost of living increase allowed by Social Security, which is almost completely offset by the increase in Medicare premiums. I can't buy a new car, or even a newer car, at this point; I'd like to, because of the increase in the price of gas, and the lack of a reliable public transportation system here. I can't afford to do most of the repairs that my house needs. If I'd realized what an older home would cost, I might have bought a new mobile home instead.

I used to be able to buy pretty much what I wanted, without thinking about it first. Given the state of the economy in our country, I realize I'm not alone in knowing that has changed. Like everyone else, I'm budgeting, and trying to figure out what I can do without.

For me the biggest financial problem has come down to the increase in prescription costs, the increase in food prices, and the increase in utility bills. I realize I'm not very different in worrying about expenses than anyone else right now, and like everyone else in our country, I'm planning and budgeting and cutting everywhere I can. My biggest worry right now is that I'll lose my disability status - poorly understood illnesses can be hard to prove - and I'm quite sure that I can't work full time. I'd much rather be working full time; the money and self-respect are both higher.

So, to the question, has Crohn's affected me financially, my answer would be a resounding yes, and at first glance, not for the better. On the good side, it has helped me lose some of my acquisitiveness. I don't want my books and CDs to own me, so I now use the public library and choose new music with care, and buy used whenever possible. On the down side, money is now an almost constant source of concern, and it never was before. And I have to say, I don't like that.