Disability, Unemployment And A Big Fat Loophole

The man at Social Security told me he was sorry and to call  him if anything changes. “It’s the unemployment that kills it,” he said, talking about my son’s chances of getting disability benefits. Apparently, if I were bringing home that whopping $194 a week from working, it would be a different story. Why, I’m not really sure. Maybe to keep me from riding too far on Uncle Sam’s Free Ride Express.

In the language of Social Security, unemployment benefits are “unearned income.” Despite the fact that we all pay into that system for the occasional rainy day that is joblessness. No one gets unemployment if they quit their job. The job has to quit them, so to speak. My job certainly quit me, and unless I find another one, I will be getting all that free “unearned income” until July.

And this, my friends, is why my son is ineligible for SSI Disability benefits. Not because they question the severity of his Crohn’s disease, or his medical records. But because his mom lost her job.

Suddenly, I am thinking about Canada and their health care system. Because I know as soon as my son hears that, at best, he will one day be eligible for Medicaid, he will be too.