Susan found it hard to remember names and suffered terrible migraines. Then there were the financial headaches. Because of her recent business reorganization, she had become one of California’s more than 6.5 million uninsured. She didn’t have any health care insurance to cover her mounting medical bills. Her car insurance—the carrier faulted road poor road conditions for her accident—would cover only $5,000 of her medical costs. Considering the severity of her injury, $5,000 was not going to cover all her bills.

Adding insult to injury, she couldn’t even collect a state disability check during her hospital stay because she was no longer enrolled in California’s disability insurance program. Had she been enrolled, she could have collected 55 percent of her income from 7 days after the accident for up to 39 weeks. Now, she’d have to wait six months to be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Before the accident, Susan thought she had planned well for the future. Her accountant assured her she was doing all the right things. But even through the fog in her head, she could see that this accident could easily wipe out her savings.

When she started feeling a little better—though still not well enough to go home—Susan spoke to Teresa, a social worker at the hospital, about her financial predicament. Teresa didn’t have good news for her. Teresa said Susan would need to enroll in Medi-Cal to pay her medical bills. But there was a catch: Susan would have to spend nearly all of her savings before she’d be eligible for Medi-Cal. Only when Susan’s savings shrunk under $3,000—what the government called the “family assets level”-- would Medi-Cal kick in.

	“So I have to go almost broke so I don’t go totally broke?” Susan asked.

“So I have to go almost broke so I don’t go totally broke?” Susan asked.

“In a way,” Teresa sighed. There was no way to put a happy face on the situation.

“You could be eligible for Social Security benefits,” Teresa told Susan. “Unfortunately, that’s not my expertise. I’m going to put you in touch with a benefits planner who understands all these different programs.” Susan’s eyebrows wrinkled. Teresa knew what was on her mind. “Don’t worry, it’s a free service. The benefits planner works with a nonprofit independent living center.”

With the help of a benefits planner named Tom, Susan applied for SSDI. If she was approved, Susan would get about $950 a month. With $950 from SSDI, Susan would not be eligible for Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

By the time Susan was discharged from the long-term care facility, she’d already tapped $27,000 from her IRA. Her life’s savings had gone down the drain in a matter of months. Her one consolation: She now had less than $3,000 in her retirement account, making her eligible for Medi-Cal’s Aged and Disabled Federal Poverty Level program. She didn’t exactly feel like celebrating her new benefit. Just as she had been poised to turn her business into a success, her whole financial foundation crumbled beneath her.

Meanwhile, the doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to go back to work for the foreseeable future. That meant that she was going to have to support herself and Griffin on $950 a month from SSDI. Things were going to be tight. Both she and Griffin would have to make sacrifices.

When she got home, Griffin and all four grandparents stood underneath a “Welcome home!” banner they’d made. Griffin took Susan by the hand into the kitchen where there was a chocolate cake with candles burning on top.

“Oh, sweetie, thank you!” she hugged Griffin. “But it’s not my birthday.”

“It doesn’t matter, ma. Make a wish.”

Susan shrugged her shoulders and smiled. She leaned forward over the candles and exhaled. The wicks smoldered with success.