Free legal advice helps employees navigate serious medical conditions

When employees are faced with a serious medical condition, the last thing they need is to wade through the complexities of their healthcare plans, benefits and rights to care. 

Triage Cancer is a nonprofit organization that provides education on the practical and legal issues that can impact individuals and their caregivers following a cancer or other serious medical diagnosis, all free of charge. From medical benefits to leave policies to estate planning, its attorneys can interpret federal, state and company laws and policies and help people with next steps. 

Access to resources that reduce the healthcare knowledge gap help benefit leaders encourage preventive care, and for employees who do receive a diagnosis, can lead to earlier intervention, lower costs and improved experience, says Monica Bryant, a healthcare rights attorney and Triage Cancer's co-founder and COO.

"When someone has a better understanding of what their health insurance options are and how to use those policies, that has a domino effect," says Bryant. "If you're diagnosed earlier, the treatment is likely going to be less expensive, which, especially for self funded plans, means a direct cost savings, and the impact on work is probably going to be reduced because treatment is shorter." 

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Addressing the need for better healthcare knowledge

According to exclusive research by EBN parent company Arizent, only 31% of employees scored 70% or above on a healthcare literacy quiz on basic terms such as premium, deductible and copay. Meanwhile, the number of employees and their family members being diagnosed with long-term, complex medical conditions such as cancer — which can require ongoing use of various medical benefits and regulated time-off policies  — is increasing. 

Access to a third party that specializes in interpreting the details of these areas alleviates stress on benefit leaders and makes sure employees know what they're entitled to. Not providing this, however, can hurt employees' interpretation of their total rewards. 

"I find that employers have benefits, like access to disability insurance benefits, but they don't always explain what that means to their employees," she says. "So they're offering a benefit, but they're not even really getting credit for it."  

Bryant points out that, like many free accommodations and resources workplaces can offer, the business's lift is small, but the payoff of going the extra mile can be immense. 

"When you accommodate employees, it's a two way street," she says. "You retain valued employees and morale improves across the board because employees feel supported in the workplace."

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Triage Cancer's education approach

In addition to referring employees or caregivers dealing with a serious diagnosis directly to Triage Cancer for education and guidance, leaders can request training and education sessions for HR and benefit teams or within employee resource groups. Everything from the financial strain, health impact and legal needs of people going through cancer and other major medical issues can be covered.

"We love to talk to people who are doing benefits design for employees, because people aren't always thinking about this aspect," Bryant says. "They're looking at dollars and cents, which of course, is important but [it is also important to have a] perspective of the things employees are facing."

Legality is intertwined with every area of someone's journey through a serious medical condition, and by connecting with Triage Cancer, benefit teams and employees are empowered to approach healthcare needs with confidence. 

"Everything is legal about health care, from what medication someone has access to, to what health insurance has to pay for, to your rights to work through treatment or take time off, to accessing wage replacement," Bryant says. "We'll answer the question that someone comes to us with, but then we also will give them information about what other questions they should be asking."

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Bryant points out that, as people stay in the workforce longer, employers who offer holistic support for those suffering from stressful medical conditions — as well as the growing population of caregivers — will come out on top in terms of talent. 

"Many conditions that previously would have taken someone out of the workforce are now [something] people can [manage] while continuing to work," she says. "Employers who are trying to make sure their employee base is the best out there are going to have to start supporting their employees through these serious and chronic medical conditions."