In 2008, a 27-year-old man (let’s call him John) was enjoying his work as a Supervisor, making about $4,000 a month. Life was good and his opportunities were endless. He was working for a company with great benefits and was enjoying the American dream. He had a beautiful stay-at-home wife, two lovely kids, a nice car, and a lovely home. He’d been smart, saved his money and made some good investments. By all accounts, he was a success.
But, in the fall of 2008, his life took on a turn. He woke up one day and had difficulty talking. He was numb on one side of his body and he struggled to walk. He didn’t know what was wrong. His wife rushed him to the hospital. Doctors kept him overnight and determined he’d had a stroke.
John spent a month in the hospital before regaining his ability to speak. During that time, he used his sick time and Family Medical Leave . When he got out of the hospital, he still dragged his left foot, experienced memory loss, and loss of some muscle coordination. Two months went by and he was still having problems. He used up the rest of his vacation time and decided to quit his job because he wasn’t sure when he would be healthy enough to return. Unfortunately, he didn’t have short term or long term disability so he was out of insurance. In order to take care of the family, and support the house, his wife had to go to work. Eventually she found a job, but couldn’t afford to put John and the kids on her insurance so she insured the kids.
Unable to find a free clinic or any providers who would take him on a low cost basis, John had to take money out of the savings and investments to start paying for private insurance and treatment. After about 7 months, he tried to go back to work and found a job as a toll collector. But he continued to have memory problems so his cash register is always off. He was let go after working only three weeks. To make matters worse, he suffered a relapse and had to go back into the hospital for a couple of weeks. When he got out, he had an expensive hospital bill to pay but no ability to pay it. By this point, 10 months have gone by and John has no insurance, no savings, and no investments. So he decides to apply for Social Security benefits.
Unfortunately, it’s a long process. It takes five months from before he gets a denial. In that time, his wife has begun working two jobs because they can’t afford the mortgage and car note . They lose the house in foreclosure and have to move in with her parents. John appeals the denial, waits another six months and is denied again l. In that time, the family’s car is repossessed. He appeals to go before a judge and now is told that he has to wait another 12 months. Twelve months of no insurance, no health care provider, no car, and no home. John’s wife struggles to pay for the few visits that he can attend at a local doctor. It’s not much but it’s something. Twelve months later, he has a hearing. After the hearing, he has to wait three to four months for a decision. Finally, he gets the good word he’s been waiting for: a fully favorable decision. He’s been approved. Now, he’ll have insurance coverage. Now, he’ll have some money.
However, to his surprise, he only gets $1200 a month. He gets a lump sum going back two years in the amount of $24,000 but John has so many bills and debt that the money is gone in less than a month. Now, the question is: How do you start back over? The money is not enough to put them in the position as they were in before. So what do they do?
This story may sound like fiction but it is not. There are thousands of Johns-and Janes-who go through this every day while trying to put their lives back together after something devastating has happened. It’s a tragedy and unfortunately, it’s an American tragedy. So what do we do to fix it?
