Hi, my name is Maggie. I am 33 years old and I was diagnosed with cervical cancer about 10 months ago. While I do have insurance through my work, I made the mistake of switching to a "better" insurance plan as of January 1, 2021, not realizing that my cancer would now be considered a "pre-existing condition" and none of my treatments would be covered. In early January, I underwent a partial trachelectomy, to remove the cancerous lesion on the cervix (by partially removing the cervix). The surgical procedure and hospital stay cost $15,202, with added costs of follow-up visits with my oncologist and additional testing has made the total for my cancer care just under $20k at this point. After months of fighting with my insurance provider, they have refused to cover any of these costs, since my cancer is a "pre-existing condition." To make a bad situation worse, the trachelectomy wasn't successful and my next treatment options would be a hysterectomy (to remove my uterus), with a combination of chemo and radiotherapy. (These treatment options would be well over $100k without insurance. I work a full-time state government job (at a University) and make less than $50k a year before taxes.)
After gutting my last remaining savings and maxing out a credit card, I am $4,500 short of being able to pay off these medical bills. I've worked out a 3-month payment plan with my doctors, so I have until the end of September to make this payment before it's sent to a collection agency. I'm asking for any help you can provide.