When You Can’t Control the Bills, Control the System
My own panic led me to costly mistakes
Before she ever taught anyone how to organize their healthcare, Sally Figueroa was overwhelmed by it. Like many people living with chronic conditions, she faced a steady stream of bills, denials, and confusing codes — none of which arrived with instructions.
In late 2023, during a period when her autoimmune symptoms were escalating and her insurance plan had shifted mid-year, she shared in a recorded reflection that she didn’t build her system out of natural discipline. She built it because chaos was costing her too much — emotionally and financially:
“I’m not naturally organized. I had to learn structure because the system didn’t give me a choice.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
That method — born from necessity — is now used by patients with lupus, MS, Crohn’s, psoriatic arthritis, diabetes, heart conditions, and dozens more.
Lesson 1: Slow Down the Spiral
One of the first patterns Sally noticed while supporting other patients was how often people tried to solve problems while panicking. Bills were opened in fear, calls were made in frustration, and appeals were submitted in a rush. During a 2023 coaching session, she described realizing that her own panic had led to costly mistakes — missed deadlines, duplicate payments, and agreements she made just to end the call quickly:
“If I slow down before I open a bill, I catch things I’d miss in stress. Structure lets you see what panic hides.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
This approach has helped people like Alyssa King, 37, who lives with multiple sclerosis. She created a ritual — tea in hand, slow breathing, one envelope at a time. Within months, she caught duplicate charges and won a $1,200 MRI appeal. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society confirms that systematic tracking of explanations of benefits and appeals is one of the strongest cost-saving strategies for people with MS.
Lesson 2: Track Everything Because No One Else Will
The healthcare system doesn’t have a central memory. Notes get lost. Agents change. Departments don’t always communicate. Sally learned early that accuracy depended on her — not the system. In 2024, she emphasized the moment she realized no doctor, insurer, or pharmacy was keeping holistic records on her behalf:
“Nobody is tracking this stuff for me — not the doctor, not the insurer. If I don’t write it down, it disappears.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
This became the foundation of her method: track symptoms, billing codes, reference numbers, authorizations, deadlines, and every conversation. Patients across chronic conditions use similar systems. Rosa Lopez, who manages psoriatic arthritis, built a binder labeled My Healthcare Brain with four sections: Insurance, Medical, Bills, Appeals.
The Arthritis Foundation recommends almost this exact organizational structure for managing claims, denials, and letters of medical necessity. Rosa recovered $2,800 in wrongly denied claims.
Lesson 3: Admin Hour Is Not Emotional — It’s Survival
When Sally’s symptoms became unpredictable, she began scheduling her administrative tasks the same way she scheduled specialist appointments. Consistency mattered more than mood. In a 2023 recorded session, she explained that separating emotions from administration was the only way she stayed ahead of the system:
“I treat my admin hour like a meeting. It’s not emotional — it’s survival.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
People across diagnoses adopted similar habits. Joe Martinez, who lives with Crohn’s disease, schedules all insurance calls when he is calm, fed, and grounded. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation notes that documented, steady communication strengthens appeals and reduces disputes.
Lesson 4: Structure Prevents Expensive Mistakes
Sally often compares her planning method to managing Type 1 diabetes — a condition she has supported extensively in her community work. She explains that structure protects people from the cost of urgency:
“I plan my energy the way I plan my insulin. If I don’t plan, I make rushed decisions — and rushed decisions get expensive.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
People living with lupus, migraines, heart conditions, and autoimmune diseases have echoed this principle. Breakthrough T1D offers worksheets and scripts that reflect the same idea: structure reduces errors and improves the success of tier exceptions, prior authorizations, and appeals.
Lesson 5: Put It on a Calendar or It Doesn’t Exist
Relying on memory for healthcare tasks isn’t realistic. Even healthy people forget deadlines — let alone someone juggling specialists, tests, medications, and unpredictable symptoms. Over time, Sally created one rule: if it mattered, it went on the calendar:
“If it’s not on my calendar, it doesn’t exist. Writing it down is how I stay ahead instead of behind.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
Patients adopt this to track repeating cycles: refills, labs, premium deadlines, authorizations, renewals, follow-ups. Research from AHRQ shows that calendar-based systems improve continuity of care and reduce missed steps for people managing chronic illness.
Lesson 6: Build a System So the Crisis Doesn’t Build You
Every chronic illness comes with uncertainty. Systems don’t remove that uncertainty — but they keep it from becoming chaos. During a 2023 reflection on her community workshops, Sally explained that the purpose of structure was not perfection but protection:
“Systems don’t cure the illness. They eliminate avoidable stress — and less stress means fewer crises.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
Patients using her approach report the same outcomes:
Rosa’s binder.
Alyssa’s admin hour.
Joe’s calm calls.
Danielle’s color-coded calendar.
Different diagnoses, different lives — but the same truth: structure becomes leverage.
The Real Payoff: Calm as Currency
Sally reminds people that chronic illness already demands enough — organization should lighten the load, not add to it. In 2024, she described the emotional relief she felt once her system was in place. The more she structured the process, the less the process controlled her:
“Calm isn’t a personality trait — it’s something you build with systems.”
— Sally Figueroa, Instagram
And when the next envelope arrives, people using her method face it not with panic — but with process.
Our Pay It Forward Approach
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Verification Note
All URLs opened and verified active — December 2025.
All cited sources are official nonprofit or U.S. government organizations.
Stress, Panic & Costly Decision-Making in Healthcare
American Psychological Association (APA) — “How Stress Impacts Decision-Making”
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2023/decision-making
Tracking Medical Records & Appeals for People With Multiple Sclerosis
National Multiple Sclerosis Society — “Managing Your Healthcare: Tracking and Organizing Medical Information”
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Living-Well-With-MS/Disease-Management/Managing-Your-Healthcare
Organizing Claims, Denials & Medical Necessity Documents
Arthritis Foundation — “Understanding Insurance Claims & Appeals”
https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/treatment/health-care/insurance/claims-and-appeals
Strengthening Insurance Appeals Through Documentation & Calm Communication
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation — “Navigating Insurance & Strengthening Appeals”
https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/resources/managing-insurance-and-appeals
Structure & Planning Tools for Chronic Disease Management (Type 1 Diabetes)
Breakthrough T1D — “Insurance Appeals, Prior Authorizations & Documentation Templates”
https://www.breakthrought1d.org/t1d-resources/insurance-appeals/
Calendar-Based Systems Reduce Missed Steps in Chronic Illness Care
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) — “Care Coordination & Continuity for Chronic Conditions”
https://www.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/care/coordination/chronic.html