How to get insurance if you cannot afford Medicare Part B?

Medicare Part B costs $104 a month and I cannot come up with that no matter what. I'm broke, in debt, and struggling to avoid a bankruptcy. Trouble is, I've been told that no state funded insurance will cover me because I qualify for Medicare Part B.

I've made multiple calls to Medicare, MassHealth, and Shine counselors and keep getting contradicting information. I'm up for SSDI review, haven't seen the doctor for this reason, may have a broken arm and the flu, and I'm just miserable....

(This is besides the point, but I'm very frustrated with Sallie Mae right now because not only do they require me to make $800 payments every single month despite qualifying for SSDI (and will not cancel my loans), but they also reported an error on my credit report cutting me off from receiving credit for now.)

You certainly are in a bad position. You should make a call to SSDI and see if you can hurry them up on your review. There isn't too much else you can do. you are falling into the same hole I fell into a couple of years ago and all I could do is wait for the right money or the right age whichever came first. I hope you get some help soon. As for Sallie Mae, I have also dealt with them and they are horrible people to have a loan with. I wish I could help you but ........

I would get my broken arm looked at. If it doesn't heal correctly it could become permanently damaged. Do you have any family that could help you? If not I would put health bills on a credit card and worry about paying later (even if later means bankruptcy). I'm on SSDI and declared bankruptcy in 2002. Nothing speeds up the review process. Luckily, I had a very good lawyer who was very skilled.

I'm glad you had a good lawyer and thanks for your response. Thanks to Jelly Bean too. I'm in so much debt (from merely surviving) that I don't even have enough room on a credit card for anything. If my credit report is not corrected soon then I will be in a bankruptcy. And if that happens, then I'll be back asking for advice about that.

Sometimes I'm tempted to attempt to write a d**n book about explaining how all these systems fall short and sending a free copy to all the politicians in office and all the major activists.

It sounds like you are under enormous pressure trying to service debt, some of it consumer and some of it due to student loans. There can come a point where there is no dishonor in saying, "I simply cannot afford to continue servicing this volume of debt." It's not like you will be put in some debtors' prison, if you decide to reduce/discontinue debt payments.

Struggling to avoid bankruptcy is understandable, but you do need to ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that will happen to me if I stop struggling so hard?" Maybe you are trying to hold on to a home that you really love and would not want to leave. Maybe you have other assets that you would hate to lose that could be confiscated.

You need to ask yourself what is it that you are trying to protect? By the way: bankruptcy may not be your only option. There is also the option of simple default, either temporarily or permanently . . . or somewhere in between. That can lead to a renegotiation of your debts . . . or the abandoning of them.

I can't imagine any asset that would be more important than your arm!

If you fall behind in debt payment, and, say, creditors were to sue you, they can only take so much. A judge would be more kind to you than you are being to yourself. No judge is going to expect you to go without medical treatment for a broken arm, in order to make payments on your VISA and MasterCard accounts.

Your income from SSDI can never be touched by credit card companies or any other form of consumer creditors. A percentage of it can be taken to make payments toward student loan debt, but only a percentage. If you have other income, say, from financial assets, then that income is vulnerable to court action.

You might want to get some counseling from a reputable agency that provides that to debtors, like yourself. I did and they told me that I would be foolish not to pursue bankruptcy. That's what I ended up doing, and I've never regretted it.

SSDI is a decent system. We should be lucky we have it. The thing that I don't like about it is that it's based on your age and work history (I'm pretty sure). So if you just completed a Master's Degree or college and worked one yr and became disabled your SSDI benefits would be extremely low. Or if you are 18-22 and just became badly disabled your benefits would be very low. SSA does have a budget so they have to watch how many people they allow into SSDI. SSDI Judges are very critical. Get a good lawyer - you pay nothing until the case is over and you pay (25%) only if you get a favorable decision. Good luck - I know you have a very tough situation.

Going bankrupt is expensive. It cost me over $1,500. My only option was to let the credit card company put a lean on my house, which I didn't want. I was able to keep my house and another credit card, and I still owe a student loan. But it stopped Discover from suing me.