Financial Information Forum - we want your questions
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Easier access to income protection. I've got cancer, delete expletive...if my doctor doesn't think I'm fit for work and my workplace agrees, why does it have to be so hard and so many forms and have a waiting period - what, do they think the cancer diagnosis may disappear if we wait 30 days? One application from me, signed my the GP or specialist with a review date should be all that's required. And why can't I go back to work for a few days if my employer is agreeable, or do some work from home, without negating that agreement altogether and having to start again with a waiting period?
My second question is about excercise/well-being. While there are some classes out there such as Encore, there appears to be little access in SA to cheap or subsidised specialist classes. If exercise is essential during treatment to keep heart and the rest of the body as well as possible, and then afterwards to prevent recurrence, why is it so hard and so expensive.
Finally, and I note that this has been touched on before, why are services and concessions not Australia-wide? - it's ridiculous.4 -
Dear @Sister, I strongly agree with all the points you have made, and that these are important questions.
Even if you only think of the bottom line - $$$ - Greater flexibility and streamlining of Centrelink approvals would lead to greater productivity and benefits for employers and workers. Provision of exercise classes/groups/advice could also save heaps of $$$.0 -
It took me months to figure out how to access any sort of physical rehab. Ive obtained access to a gym and pool through the YMCA open door program for which I am extremely grateful, but that runs out in a couple of weeks. There's no individual support available, so I've been making up my own program as I go along. No Encore here.
Now I find I have some shitty inflammatory condition. I'll probably never be up to scratch physically from now on. Would early intervention have helped? Probably. I couldn't afford it even if I could have found someone who had the skills to address a series of side effects that most oncologists won't admit are all to bloody common. Humph.2 -
I wrote to the minister for human services about a heap of stuff regarding access to payments/super and support. Especially for hard working tax paying families who aren’t on a benefit and aren’t super rich either who struggle especially on one wage when the shit hits the fan and I got a letter back the other day to say they have referred my complaint to the treasury department as they are the bean counters. So I’ll keep you posted on the outcome. But the red tape and eligibility is simply unfair to access anything and there are good examples of this above. No wonder why a lot of people just simply don’t bother with it all as it’s just too hard. I hope those involved in this conference read these posts too. Margie xx4
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The hardest thing (and I know I'm still just at the start of all of this) is that with diagnosis you are in shock and reeling. Then comes treatment and to add to the shock, you're not sleeping, struggling with side effects and pain, and possibly with chemo brain as well. Then you have to try to navigate the complexities of income, concessions, gaps and subsidies and NOTHING (yes, I'm shouting) is easy or straightforward. And even if you are normally a person who can manage stuff like this, you find it so difficult. What happens to the person who struggles with these sorts of things when they're at the top of their game?4
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Here’s my suggestions
Easier access to a Centrelink benefit of some description at least when you are unable to work due to a life threatening condition not just a disability. And raise the ridiculous threshold that’s currently there to be eligible. And change the criteria as to what qualifies as a disability. For example long term side effects from chemo is not currently one yet there are people on there with depression (which is justified) but not chemo side effects which can have long term physical and mental concerns. Or even access to a temporary dsp during trestment and surgery would be something
Or access to a tax free loan like the apprentices get (currently $20k) to help cover expenses while you are off work (if we all got this how much easier would life have been whilst not working)
easier and less complicated access to your super to pay mortgage payments, bills and travel expenses etc. if you read the criteria for this it is just ridiculous.
Clearer and universally trained staff to give the right information every time not just “when you get a good one”. For example I was told last year I couldn’t access my super for my recon as it’s available in the public system then rang again a couple weeks ago as I had a patient access hers for lap band surgery only to be told I actually can as it has to be “readily available” through the public system to not be able to access it and because the wait list is so long in qld I apparently can now.
I also mentined the ridiculousness of having to find at least $800 upfront for prosthetics then having to wait to be reimbursed from Medicare.
I put all this and more in my email to the human services minister so hopefully I’ll hear back prior to the conference and I can forward the letter to you @Marianne_BCNA.
Margie x
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I lost my job a couple of weeks before I was diagnosed, again, in 2016, brilliant timing so I couldn't access my income insurance. . I had to live off my savings, because I had some, for 12 months before I could get any help from Centrelink. During that time I had zero income and was paying full price for everything.
Once I ran out of money I had to go through the ritual humiliation of applying for New Start. At least I got a health care card, which has cut the cost of my meds from $38 to @$6
Living on $250 a week is hardly luxurious, but I'm made to feel like I'm bludging. Getting back to work has been an excruciatingly slow process. Thankfully I have been able to claim my mortgage insurance--more being made to feel like a fraud.
I've gone through about $40k of my savings. If you factor in lost income--which apparently you cant-- I'd say the whole performance has cost me well over $100k. TBH I'd have been better off if I'd blown every cent I ever earned. Pffhht.
Don't start me on the cost of bloody supplements. My calcium and magnesium levels are all broken and it seems I was taking the wrong types of both. The chemist is recommending some prohibitively expensive powders to fix the problem. I started them just after a blood test so will give it a go for three months and see if anything improves. This performance costs about $2.50 a day.1 -
Drug addicts can receive methadone free, and don't have to wait in queues in public hospitals, get free needles and a safe place to shoot up after becoming drug addicts (THEIR CHOICE). AND the other thing that makes me really mad is when newcomers to this country receive a health care card and support like housing, mobile phones, benefits from Centrelink immediately and yet we tax paying AUSTRALIANS DO NOT, when we are unable to work and genuinely cannot afford to have cancer. it is certainly out of balance and I know I felt like I was being punished for being over 50 and having Breast cancer. No more free mammograms, $500 Gap payments every six months for now mandatory MRI's, Huge gap payments for testing and surgery in the private sector ($7000 OPE up to day after surgery) on top of paying out $420 per month for Medibank Private for 52 years and 30 cents in the dollar earned in taxation. Then the cost of the radiation -($000's) and supplements, and physio and compression wear, and so on and so on. We will PAY for having breast cancer every day for the rest of our lives and in fact the government have withdrawn lots of items BECAUSE of our breast cancer diagnosis. eg MRI - Body scans, bone scans, needle biopsies, etc etc...
Rant over. But certainly not forgotten.
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@sandramj ,I agree with moat of what you have written above, but I'm not sure about the newcomers to Australia. When we immigrated here, twenty two years ago, we each had 20kg of luggage, and by the time we had changed our money into Aussie dollars, we had about 11 thousand dollars. With this we had to find a job for my husband, private rental accommodation,bond, electricity and phone connection, a car, furniture, school uniforms for our two children, pots, kettle etc...the lot. We were issued medicare cards, with NO concessions, just what other Australians had. We had no transport concessions and were exempted from making any Centrelink claims for a period of three years. Our family have not sucked on the public teat (unlike many Australians born and bred, and often multigenerational sucking, I might add), but have paid out taxes and contributed to our society in every way. None of us has been before the courts, misused drugs, or asked for any handouts.
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I hope that the organisers include information or presentations from financial counsellors. Financial counsellors are qualified and registered to provide a service around debt management, advocacy, financial and legal options, financial literacy. Their service is always free. While breast cancer costs money, other expenses such as utilities (power, phone, water), mortgage, credit cards, insurance,school costs etc continue as well and don’t always get attention. Google financial counselling australia. 1800 007 007
An example of some of the things they can do include debt negotiation, payment plans, debt waiver, bankruptcy, hardship assistance, super access, and the list goes on.3 -
It's great that you are doing this workshop in Melbourne and will hopefully do them elsewhere (and hopefully online etc.) as this is such a huge issue for many of us.
I live with stage 2 lymphedema and osteoporosis, both of which are chronic conditions bought on by treatment (not to mention the array of other side-effects) and both of which impact me on a daily basis. The costs around the life-long management of my lymphedema are the most frustrating as there appears to be inequitable access to support for customised compression garments from State to State and Medicare only assists with 5 physiotherapy treatments annually so then I need to rely on private health for limited support but still need end up paying quite a lot of out of pocket expenses by mid-late year. It is at a point where I can't afford to pay the out of pocket expenses to visit my psychologist (cos surprisingly I also have anxiety / depression) as I need to prioritise what I can afford. This is not an acceptable situation and it is time governments and the tax-funded entities we have all contributed to supporting over the years come up with some solutions to ease the pressure we are all under.
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Hi there I hope this doesn’t start a war but I thInk @sandramj wasnt implyimg we shouldn’t support immigrants to this country, it was more that a lot of us have worked our arses off our whole working lives paid tax never had Centrelink support or minimal Centrelink support and when faced with a potentially life threatening condition is virtually impossible or not possible to get any support from the govt. so I think what’s she’s saying is we and many others should be entitled to at least something. For example my hubby kept on working during all my surgery and treatment and because of this (and believe me we are just working class) we couldn’t get any support. Not even a health care card to help with meds, or assistance with travel costs etc, couldn’t claim any super for financial support as you have to be on a benefit for at least 26 weeks. If you can’t claim a benefit then you should at least be able to access some of your super so you don’t end up on the skin of your arse like we are now and without it being a huge head fuck and all because he earned over the threshold which I might add is less than the Minimum wage. And like @zoffiel it’s cost us too around $100k in lost wages and out of pocket costs and we didn’t have private health insurance either. And I thInk what @sandramj is saying is Government support should be more evenly distributed to all Australians who need it. Margie. Xx1
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No one told me l could acess my super ins component.and no one told me l was going to be so out of pocket even with private health. Someone needs to give us this info we are not in the right headspace when your diagnosed.but honestly will anyone listen1
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Thankyou @onemargie I just reread my response and for some reason only a small part of it was posted and I can’t edit it. Power is off here and phone is gone to 2% so will repost tomoz. Yes that’s much more like what I was trying to say. Thanks for your support. Everyone. I certainly never want to upset ANYONE on this page as we are all here to support one another. Xx1
