The financial impact of inflammatory arthritis 

Wendy Favorito
Former Consumer Director Arthritis Australia (rheumatoid arthritis)

So in managing this condition and you’re juggling lots of different issues, the one thing that has become really apparent to me as I’ve got older is juggling the financial impact of having a condition like this. This isn’t necessarily what your rheumatologist talks to you about or your psychologist; I think it’s something that you get through the lived experience and because I’ve got a chronic condition and it affects my ability to work full-time. So there in itself there’s a loss of income. But there also can be a significant amount of out-of-pocket expenses so while we have a relatively good healthcare system, medication still has an out-of-pocket expense and I need that medication to be able to get up and function and to be a parent and to go to work. Then there’s all of the other costs that come with, for example, Allied Health services; if I need to have time out of work because of the condition and that’s a loss of income. So my husband and I are often making financial decisions around, well we can’t have a holiday then because with a lot of out-of-pocket expenses for my healthcare have been more than we were anticipating and so it’s that trade-off. That’s a real juggling act and can be a real strain on the family.