Hi all, I'm c4/5 complete, living independently.

[rikiusa]

Hi all, I'm c4/5 complete, living independently. I work FT, and live comfortably. Due to my work-related expenses, I am still able to qualify for attendant care coverage through medical assistance. I am currently eligible for 55 hours per week. My concern is that I am right at the limits for medical assistance coverage, so it is only a matter of time before I may lose coverage. In addition, now that I have recently paid off some student loans, I now have some extra income I'd like to invest. Of course, I am unable to with medical assistance. So what do people do who don't qualify for attendant care assistance through the State do? I certainly could not pay for 55 hours of attendant care coverage.

[Cowboys_Place]

rikiusa,

I'm a c 4/5 complete trying to figure out how I will ever be able to live independently. I don't qualify for assistance because of a settlement with workman's comp when I was hurt back in 84. Unfortunately the monthly payments are not enough to pay for the amount of attendant care I would need to live independently plus pay for meds, food and other living expenses, yet it's too much to qualify for aid from the state.

So to answer your question I rely on family mostly my 75 year old mother!!
I can't complain since I'm better off than a lot of our brothers and sisters on here however it's still a daily, monthly and yearly struggle.
PS that extra money you have to invest if you have someone you truly truly trust you might want to think about having it invested under their name just a suggestion.

[Scott C4/5]

I too am a C 4/5 living with my mom and step-dad. I don't receive enough government benefits to live on my own & pay for attendant care. I am on the medicaid waiver program, but they only send out a worker for 4 1/2 hours Monday-Saturday. Not enough to live alone. I got a job once in an office that ended up knocking me out of more medical benefits than the money I earned working. If something happens to my mom and step-dad, I guess I'll end up in a nursing home, which for me here in this state may as well be a death sentence. Unless I win the lottery or publish my children's book and get rich from it, my days are numbered.

As for investing, like Cowboy said, do you have someone you can trust with the money?

[futurewalker]

study all about ssi vs earnrd vs un-earned income. 'nuff said...

[gjnl]

I don't know anything about your earned income and investment income, but investigate the possibility of making your investments through an IRA or Roth IRA, whichever on is suited to your situation.

All the best,
GJ

[Chess]

Look for a Benefit Navigator. It may be different state to state, but here in Georgia the http://www.shepherd.org/ has a great staff. For investments use a broker platform like TD Ameritrade under someones name whom you trust or buy a raw commodity like gold to store. You could try doing Forex by hand if the exchange rate doesn't eat profits.

[KyleP2112]

Receiving benefits and working (or not working) is a big, complicated issue. I'm looking to work and really want to after going to college and getting a degree. Finding a job with the terrible economy that pays enough to pay for attendant care has been next to impossible so far...the catch 22 is that if I take a lower paying job I'd lose my benefits and insurance which wouldn't leave me making enough to pay for helpers. The whole process and situation is very frustrating...
With the health problems like periodic pressure wounds (add in surgery to fix a wound) and chronic pain you can see why people with higher level spinal cord injuries aren't working in big numbers...
The latest twist is that I had just had an interview with the ny state vocational counselor whose job it is to get people with disabilities working and paying taxes. Next step is to go for a "benefits consultation" to see if there's a way to recieve some benefits to pay for caregivers...at least enough to enable working...

[Dianka]

thats pretty amazing- living independently ...i so far no near to that

[KyleP2112]

Sometimes...quite often really, living independently or working seems very different because of different challenges that are pretty clear to those of us with higher level injuries.
So...Dianka, I know where you're coming from about living independently.

[Tim C.]

Originally Posted by Dianka

thats pretty amazing- living independently ...i so far no near to that

I understand the annomally that the younger the person is at the time of traumatic injury, the more the person tends to improve as far as injury level classification, as compared to older people with a comparative injury. However, it's not often I hear a person of that level injury claiming to be able to manage independently. I spend many hours on my own, but no matter what, try as I might, there's only so much I can do.
I am impressed with this peson.