A Widow's Portion

     Here is a true story of an American woman widowed in the Twenty First Century. This is an unusual woman, one who suffered abuse, traumatic injury, substance addiction, physical and emotional disability. What makes this strong lady unique is survival; she recovered, surviving it all against infinitesimal odds. 

      Now the woman is in her mid-sixties. I'll call her Moira. As a young wife and mother, Moira suffered more than her share of tragedy and hardship. 
     Moira met Norris, when both were old enough to have outdistanced the challenges of  marriage, child rearing and career changes. He was a successful entrepreneur, handsome, a charmer. Norris and Moira married, but separated after several years. They remained great friends for life, frequently dining out, even traveling together on occasion. Neither asked for a divorce; neither considered remarrying. They were comfortable with their relationship.
   Recently, though, Norris fell ill. He was diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer. He fought a losing battle, entered hospice and died. This occurred in the space of a few months, and devastated Moira. Although the two had lived apart for more than twenty years, he was her rock.

Widow, the word consumes itself.  Sylvia Plath

    Given the length of their separation Moira hardly felt married to Norris. Nevertheless, as the law requires, she claimed a Social Security survivor's benefits. 
     Despite years of earning, the stresses of single parenthood, physical injury and mental challenge had reduced Moira to poverty. The modest survivor's benefit from Social Security might have been a blessing, but turned into a nightmare. On receiving word of the small widow's portion from Social Security, her housing assistance immediately diminished. 
   Next Social Security took away her longstanding disability benefits. The state in which she lives advised Moira she is no longer a Qualified Medicaid Beneficiary. The result was a change in her medical insurance. Visits with physicians and prescription drugs now incur substantial co-pays. If that were not sufficient, Moira's Medicaid Assistance with Medicare Part B premiums (SHIP) terminated, requiring her to reapply in her state; meanwhile she pays the premiums from her Social Security checks.
     With the change in her medical insurance coverage, Moira had to apply for extra help through the Social Security Administration, to assist with prescription costs. She waits for her application to be processed; meanwhile, she pays out of pocket for visits to physicians and for some costly prescription drugs. 
     Finally, through no fault of her own, Moira was overpaid a monthly disability payment, so she was required to pay money back to Social Security. While all of this went on, her small monthly EBT (food stamp) benefit was drastically cut. 
    Moira needs therapy for depression. Given the boatload of sad, stressful experiences, who wouldn't be depressed? She can no longer access mental health services without paying co-pays she cannot afford. Moira's family is, frankly, at a loss to understand the morass of red tape and the losses (aside from Norris' tragic death.) They have, as most families would have, limited resources. They take the view that, somehow, she's brought financial disaster upon herself. The relationship has become strained. 

   For Moira finding resources has been an uphill battle. While she deals with a complex and unfriendly system, she speaks daily with indifferent, abrupt, representatives of non-profits; in this economy, most are  overwhelmed and underfunded. 

     This is the widow's portion in the most prosperous country on earth, during this so enlightened era. For a woman who cannot work, due to shaky physical and mental health, her husband's death was worse than heart-wrenching; it put her health and life in jeopardy. 
     I'll continue to follow Moira's story, and I'll report what works; we already know what does not work.