This final article about how you are going through the transition from your healthcare needs to early and periodical screening, diagnosis and treatment (EPSDT), to pay for them from your own pocket or with extremely limited coverage, comes down to copper. We discussed the last two articles on how you can get medical bills paid through alternative routes - now you need to talk about what happens when you need to choose between paying (for example) your electricity bill. .. or your insulin.
Catch-22s
When you disable young adults and federal and state programs, everything collapses around you, it may seem like you are in a nightmare. If you manage to collect only a few hundred dollars, what do you pay first, rent or a penny to visit your weekly doctor? In most cases, the answer is that you pay your medical bills, and you are looking for charity or some other help to pay your living expenses. This is due to the fact that for life there are many different costs, and for each of them there are both government programs and charitable organizations, but few people want to solve the problem of a chronically incapacitated person, long-term medical bills.
When to start
Two good places to start are the “Quick Links for Low-Income People” and “Family Benefits” list, as well as the “Search for Beneficiaries” of the federal government. Between them, you will find links to subscribe to:
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP and Food Stamps)
• Medicare Part D (Benefits of Prescription Drugs)
• Low-income household support program (LIHEAP - pays for heating bills)
• Rental assistance opportunities through your local community action board
• And several other services.
Basic budgeting and cash management skills
If your specific set of special needs does not prevent you from maintaining a budget and managing your own money, you will find that there are many resources that will help you learn how to do it yourself. There is an excellent PDF document that serves as the main book on budgeting and money management for people with disabilities; find him here. Mymoney.gov also has many tools.
Getting a car as low-income for adults
As long as your budgeting skills (above) allow it, it is possible (albeit more difficult) for adults with disabilities, with a strong history, to purchase a car for free at FreeCharityCars.org. Every month they give about the car, and every day they sign dozens of people, so it’s not easy to do it, but if you have the time and energy to tell your story, it might just be very, very worth it.
If not, once again, Disability.gov offers an excellent list of places that offer assistance in getting inexpensive cars.
Buying a home as a low-income adult for adults
... may sound like a trumpet dream, but there are an amazing number of programs that can help you achieve this noble goal. The list of preferential mortgage lenders on Disabled-World.com can give you a lot of information to get you started, including a list of both national and state lenders.
Life after EPSDT and without Medicaid coverage can be extremely difficult - but resources are there, and changes occur, even if in tiny increments, every day.
