Reply #21: My access to healthcare dictates my income [View All]

[kineneb]

or lack thereof. Hubby died at the end of Mar., leaving me with no "official" income. I now have the choice of hoping SSI thinks I am crazy enough to be "disabled", thus qualifying for ~$800/mo and Medi-Cal. Or, I can find a part-time job that pays no more than $600/mo gross, and continue to qualify for CMSP*, without a share-of-cost. Any money I "officially" make over that $600 is has to be paid out before I can get any medical care or medicine. We spent down all of our assets to get his medical care. Now there is nothing left but the house and the car. No saving or retirement to fall back upon.

Yeah, I am pissed.

rant /off

*CMSP: County Medical Services Program- offered in CA to "medically indigent" adults in rural counties.

ed to add: Unless a widow/er is over 50 and disabled, there are no SS benefits available until proper retirement age (for me, 67). I got my survivor's benefit check of $255 already. (not even enough to bury someone, Hubby's cremation was almost $3,000- w/no fancy urn or services)