“I’m Just Sitting Now. Wondering.”: Surviving the Wait for Disability

Abstract

ABSTRACT In US states that have foregone Medicaid expansion, a disinvestment in general assistance programs has meant that disability benefits remain one of the few sources of cash assistance ostensibly available to uninsured working poor Americans. Yet among impoverished South Carolinians, economic hardship and ill-health often compound during the long, uncertain waits for a disability determination. Here I explore the peculiar vulnerabilities of working poor disability seekers living in an insurance gap of a state that has foregone Medicaid expansion; individuals that risk the protracted, injurious waiting for a chance at meaningful healthcare.