Where Can Myeloma Care Partners Find Out More About Financial Support? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Where can myeloma care partners find out more about available financial support? Nurse practitioner Daniel Verina discusses avenues for navigating the financial burden of care through social workers and organizations like the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), and the importance of asking your healthcare team for resources.

Daniel Verina is a nurse practitioner at the Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma at Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center in New York City.

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Transcript:

 Katherine Banwell:

How can caregivers find out more about financial support? 

Daniel Verina:

I think the great thing is talk to your social worker and your institution to see what available funds, what grants that are available for them to help support them through that. Also, inquire at their employment what is available for them through there. What does their insurance actually cover, right?  

Going to the International Myeloma Foundation website or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation website and seeing the support that they can get through those institutions and organizations and the key tools that they have there for them.   

Katherine Banwell:

I mean, there could be something as simple as not being able to pay for parking.   

Daniel Verina:

Absolutely. And I always ask. I tell my patients, “Ask.” I’ll be honest, at my institution, I never know whether they can punch the card and get free parking or not, but I say to them, “Please ask at the front desk. Ask our social workers if there are ways.” And if they’re getting bills that we don’t understand, one thing patients need to do, and their caregivers is to bring us the bills that they have.  

Because many times, in my experience, the patient has brought me a stack of bills after four months and said, “Look what I’m getting.” I said, “Well, why didn’t you tell me a month into this, not waiting four months?” So, it’s allowing them to know bring it to us and let’s see what we can do can. We can never always guarantee that we can eradicate their bills. But what I’m saying to them is we can try.  

Katherine Banwell:

Absolutely. That’s great advice, Daniel. Thank you so much for joining us.  

Daniel Verina:

Oh, thank you so much.