The High Financial Cost Of Surviving Critical Illness

Thanks to the advances in medical science, critical illnesses such as cancer can now be curable. However, even though people rarely talk about the financial cost of being ill, critical illnesses are extremely expensive.

Cost of critical illness

Many people can enjoy a relatively normal life after having suffered critical illness. But, having suffered a critical illness could cause serious changes to your lifestyle.

In the UK, we’re blessed with free access to healthcare. However, some treatments, tests, trialled medications, and specialized machines/equipment are partly or non-financially supported by the NHS. Consequently, the patient has to dip into savings and/or overdrafts. In addition, being diagnosed with a critical illness might imply reducing the hours you are working or having to give up work completely. So what are your options?

• Savings can reduce the stress associated with the costs of critical illness. But, are they enough to pay, for example, to receive top medical treatment in another country or for you to retire early?
• Alternatively, Critical Illness Cover can  provide you with financial peace of mind whilst focusing on getting back to full health (Learn More Here). 

Going back to work after being ill

Ask your GP for a fit note, it will help you explain to employers about your illness and potential necessary adjustments to your work environment or schedule.

• Going back to your job: don’t feel obligated to go straight back to working full-time. Working part-time, even if is for only the first few weeks, will ease the need to catch up on potential changes and help both you and the company to make potential necessary changes to your work environment or schedule (e.g. allowing time off for medical check ups or getting a new wheelchair friendly desk).
• Applying for work: a gap in a CV causes potential employees to dismiss candidates. Potential employees will be more likely to overlook the gap if you give a valid reason. It is for this reason that we recommend explaining the reason for the gap in the covering letter and CV.