Side Effects: Finale | Miles to Go

Where do we go from here? The end of this documentary must herald some transformation that proves the financial crisis of cancer matters enough for us to fix it.

The coronavirus pandemic gives us some clues. As Carla Tardif from Family Reach said back in Act 1, the relatively recent and acute impact of the coronavirus on our financial and physical well-being gave all of us a glimpse of what happens when a health crisis creates a financial crisis.

In response, thousands of credit unions offered easy skip-a-pay options to their members. From how they’ve described it, Idaho Central Credit Union’s medical forbearance program continues the spirit of the program with members who have cancer. That is as good of a place as any for a credit union to start looking for ways to serve members in a season of overwhelming need.

But medical forbearance programs are just the beginning of a life-saving journey that our industry collectively, and each credit union individually, must take toward members battling cancer. We must prove their cancer matters enough to give members like Klara, Bernice, Lisa, Elizabeth, and countless others a healthy financial path forward despite their diagnosis.

 

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