Student Loan Assistance

[danflowers47]

Hello everyone,

I was recently diagnosed with MS, and the medical bills for all the tests and now the treatment are really going to be adding up, I do have insurance but it only pays a certain percentage, which is helpful but not as helpful as I need it to be. I also have a pretty substancial student loan debt, that I really cannot pay due to the fact that my health is far more important and I need to pay my medical bills above all others, I was just wondering if there are any organizations or assistance programs that anyone knows of that may help someone in my situation. Thank you in advance for any suggestions that you may have.

Best Regards,
Dan

[Scooter24]

Are you on SSD yet or have you applied? if you google student loan forgiveness there are alot of sites that go over this, but I believe you must be "disabled " as far as the government is concerened to get it, but you may be able to get a temp waver on your payments that will cover you until you are "disabled"

[KarenR]

Dan,

I moved your thread out of the Tysabri forum and into the General forum. You may get more replies here.

Be well,

[Lendi]

If your loans are through the Dept. of Ed just give them a call. They'll usually give you a payment hardship grace period although the interest still accumulates. At least that's how it was when I worked in financial aid.

I think there are some income guidelines about totally getting the loan written off and then only with a formal gov. disability but things change so it might be worth checking into.

[Lendi]

Oh, I thought of something else. If you were to file for bankruptcy due to high med bills and health etc remember that you can't declare student loans. So, IMHO if I were to let a loan or pymt go that wouldn't be the one I decided on. Student loans are backed backed by the gov and they don't let people out of paying them very easily so you might find yourself in an even deeper hole if you just ignored them.

[Redwings]

Hi Dan:
Somewhere in that mass of paperwork you signed when you took out your student loans is information about deferment, forbearance and forgiveness. The type of relief available and the terms depend on the type of loan. For help with the details, contact your lenders, loan servicers or the financial aid office at the school you attended.

There's an abundance of student loan websites available to give you background information. Here are a few to get you started:
http://www.fsahelp.ed.gov
www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org
http://www.nolo.com (search for "student loans")

As for your medical bills, many pharmaceutical companies offer copay assistance programs for their brand-name drugs. The companies' websites usually have information about qualification requirements and how to apply. Also, check this helpful thread in the Medications forum: http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=100575

[Spydre]

Are you on SSD yet or have you applied? if you google student loan forgiveness there are alot of sites that go over this, but I believe you must be "disabled " as far as the government is concerened to get it, but you may be able to get a temp waver on your payments that will cover you until you are "disabled"

The loan forgiveness only works if your loans were pre 1992, I just looked into recently. But you can get hardship forbearance for up to 12 months at a time, until you are better situated to pay on the loans.

[Redwings]

The loan forgiveness only works if your loans were pre 1992

My student loan is post 1992 and has a disability forgiveness provision. Terms and provisions depend on the loan.

[Nabbosa]

Charity aid for medical bills

I'd suggest you look into whatever aid you can get for the medical bills.

I didn't think about this when I was getting diagnosed, but a friend (who is also a student) had to have surgery for a lump in her breast, and the medical center reduced their fees. She had medical insurance, but they figured her income was low enough that they'd reduce it. The paperwork is pretty humiliating, but worth it to save the thousand dollars.

[msfortuknit1]

RE: Student Loan forgiveness

Hello
I just wanted to let you know that if you contact the department of education and let them know that you have MS and are disabled that you will not have to repay your loans. If you look on the Dept of Ed page there should be some information there. Godspeed.

S

[Imagine]

I understand...

the anxiety about student loans. Do you have someone in your life who can handle your paperwork and phone calls? I did not have to borow funds for my undergraduate degree. I did, however, borrow 22,000 for graduate school. Now, I paid the ammount I was supposed to for years; and when I couldn't I was granted a forebearance. [COLOR="DarkRed"]That lovely interest continues to build. [COLOR="Black"]My last loan was in 1992; and I had paid back close to 20 thousand.

Due to interest and late fees I still owed 30 THOUSAND!!!

I went thru Sallie Mae; now, my understaning is that the type of fines, etc; imposed are no longer permissable. There is a seperate process for disability determination, when it comes to student loans. Even if the fed gov determines that you are disabled... sallie mae may not.

My mother in law, took over the whole thing and I received a letter stating that the entire balance of my loan had been "discharged." That is why I ask about a person who can advocate for you and cut through the notorious red tape.

Should you still be employed, make sure to find out how the interest is compounded. You can simply pay only the interest every month, which would prevent you from owing more than you borrowed in the first place!

I hope this helps. Hang in there and keep us posted.
Shalom
Suzanne

[freedom1]

Does anyone know if your spouse's income is taken into consideration for a discharge or is it just based on my inability to work?

I took out parent loans for my kids in my name when I was working. Now that I am on disability I am no longer making the money I made when employed and the loans are becoming a hardship.

My husband makes good money, however so did I when I took out the loans, between social security and my third party benefits I am only bringing in 60% of my salary from 2009. If I were still working I would have received substantial raises and bonuses over the last two years, now I don't even get a COLA.

Sometimes I feel guilty for even thinking about this because I am so much better off than alot of people, however each year it becomes harder as everything else goes up and my contribution to household income remains stagnant.

[Imagine]

Not in my case

I can only speak of my experience. SL company was aware of my marital status (remarried 2 years ago), but his income was not a factor, as it was never questioned. I understand your delimma b/c my situation was similar. It stands to reason, that since the loans were granted for education and you're unable to work... spouse's income not a factor. Again, I am in no way a resource for SL discharge, forgiveness, etc; but I am happy to relay what my experience was.

Oh yeah- that 22 thousand dollar loan, ended up being over 38 thousand when it was discharged! I had been making payments on that loan since 1992... do the math. Thank God the loan was discharged! Good Luck and hope this helps.
Shalom,
Suz