For 2.3 million Americans of all ages, epilepsy—a type of seizure disorder and the third most common neurological disorder after stroke and Alzheimer’s disease—brings a multitude of questions. Will I be able to keep my job? What kinds of medical costs will I incur? How will I get to work if I can no longer drive?
To help answer these questions and more, NEFE worked with the Epilepsy Foundation to develop In Control: Taking Charge of Epilepsy—and Personal Finances.
“This is a life circumstance fraught with immediate financial implications,” said Brent Neiser, CFP®, director of Collaborative Programs at NEFE. “Epilepsy has a direct impact on a person’s ability to earn an income because it influences one’s ability to hold a job and even the capacity to drive. It also can affect health insurance.”
The 48-page booklet teaches that although a diagnosis of epilepsy is a major event, it is still possible to live a healthy, prosperous life after it—provided that individuals with epilepsy carefully manage their health and their money. Topics covered in the booklet include analyzing your health plan, developing a budget, affording medications and other health-care costs, finding alternative transportation, talking with an employer about epilepsy, handling job loss in the event of disability, applying for government assistance, saving and investing money, and addressing insurance and estate planning issues.
To supplement the booklet, there’s also a Web component about financial management and planning at the Epilepsy Foundation’s Web site.
“The project has been a wonderful way to pull a lot of information about the financial aspects of epilepsy into one, comprehensive booklet and offer it to people as a resource that they can refer to again and again at different points in their lives,” said Jessica Deering, director of Special Initiatives at the Epilepsy Foundation in Landover, Maryland.
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