Monday, May 4, 2009

10:45 am. Social Security Office, Berkeley, CA

It takes an hour and half, even with the help of a very friendly social worker, to fill out all the paperwork on my application for disability benefits and Medicare.  I turned fifty-five in February and the premiums on my already costly insurance shot up to $1200 a month.  Even with all my papers in order and clear evidence that I have not been able to work for three years, it will take another year before the government starts paying for a portion of my medical expenses, which overshadow every other item in my budget.