I Need Help

Are you having trouble getting your child to cancer treatment? (Haga clic aquí para ver esta información en español.)

YOU ARE NOT ALONE AND WE CAN HELP

Many parents cannot afford the travel expenses to get their child to cancer treatment. Compass to Care helps parents by paying for all of these costs.

How Does Compass to Care Help?

If your application is approved, Compass to Care will provide direct payment or provide support for families to receive payment from Medicaid for one or several of the following expenses, based on your family’s needs and type of insurance:

Airfare • Gasoline • Lodging

Parking Fees • Taxi/Uber/Lyft Fees • Train Fare

How Do I Qualify?

If your family meets the following criteria, you are welcome to apply:

  • Child must be under the age of 18
  • Child must be diagnosed with cancer
  • Child must be in active oncology treatment, confirmed by a social worker or oncologist familiar with their treatment plan
  • The household annual income must be at or below the amount in the Maximum Household Income chart below
  • Applications must be completed truthfully

For questions and extenuating circumstances, please reach out to our Program Manager at (563) 231-0458 or Essy@CompassToCare.org

Maximum Total Annual Household Income

To be eligible for support, your family cannot have an annual household income over the following:

Family Size Maximum Income Maximum Income if Flying
2 $51,100 $61,320
3 $64,550 $77,460
4 $78,000 $93,600
5 $91,450 $109,740
6 $104,900 $125,880
7 $118,350 $142,020
8 $131,800 $158,160

How Do I Apply for Assistance?

There are two steps to a Compass to Care application:

  • The child’s social worker or oncologist involved in the child’s treatment plan must submit a referral FIRST
  • Then the parent will receive the application to complete

Information Needed to Complete the Application

To complete the application for your child, you will need the following information:

  • Your child’s name, date of birth, type of cancer, stage of cancer, and date of diagnosis.
  • Your contact information.
  • Your child’s doctor’s name, address, and phone number.
  • Your monthly household income (if there are two parents or caregivers both must be included on the application). This total must include take home pay, disability income, Social Security income, alimony and child support, and income from investments.
  • Your current medical debt
  • The total balance on your bank accounts
  • Any support you are receiving from other charities or fundraisers

Application For Support

Please have your social worker refer your child to start the application process.

Pídale a su trabajador social que recomiende a su hijo para comenzar el proceso de solicitud.

Travel Needs We DO NOT Support

Compass to Care is unable to provide assistance with:

  • Travel for follow up appointments after active treatment is complete, and non-cancer treatments such as the dentist, physical therapy, etc.
  • Past travel expenses
  • Expenses that are not travel related (mortgage, rent, utilities, childcare, etc.)
  • Travel for visits from additional family members
  • Travel to home and back when the child is in-patient

Additional Important Information

Please note:

  • Travel assistance is provided for the patient and 1 legal guardian. We do not provide travel support for additional family members.
  • At this time, assistance is only available for travel within the continental United States, and does not include Hawaii or Alaska
  • Lodging and airfare support is provided on a case-by-case basis and we ask for as much lead time as possible.
  • Compass to Care maintains frequent communication with social workers/oncologists to confirm the active treatment status of each family in our programs.

What happens after I submit my application?

Once you have completed the application and hit SUBMIT, your information is immediately sent to our staff for review. We respond to all complete applications (including the referral from a social worker/oncologist) within one business day.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

If you have any questions, please call the Compass to Care office at (563) 231-0458 or email our Program Manager, Essy Castaneda, at Essy@CompasstoCare.org

Compass to Care reserves the right to change these guidelines at any time without notice, and to apply these guidelines at its reasonable discretion. If you have any questions, please contact our Program Manager, Essy Castaneda, at (563) 231-0458 or Essy@CompassToCare.org.