Apr 1, 2012 / 12:04 pm
Mabel Smith never imagined that one day she wouldn’t be able to pay her bills and be forced to ask other people for assistance.
“I’ve always worked two jobs since I was 16 years-old,” Smith recalled, adding that she and her late husband had saved their money, lived modestly and achieved the American dream by purchasing a modest home in the suburbs where they hoped to enjoy a happy retirement.
That dream was shattered two years ago when Smith’s husband died in a state hospital, where he had been a patient for more than two years. Using the couple’s life savings to pay outstanding medical bills, she fell behind on her mortgage. After several months of nonpayment, the bank foreclosed on the property.
“You have to carry on, but it’s difficult,” Smith said, adding that she works more than 30 hours per week at a call center, but still struggles to pay her rent and purchase medications and groceries. When she discovered that a medication she was recently prescribed required a $200 co-pay, she refused the medication and asked her physician to order a less expensive generic drug.