At 74, Rebecca Walriven-Lawson needs back surgery to walk properly again. But first, she must get a part-time job to pay for the procedure.
"One more raise in my rent is going to put me out on the street," said Walriven-Lawson, who lives in Cincinnati with her adult son. "I am fighting a losing battle trying to stay afloat."
Walriven-Lawson lost her Medicaid coverage last April and was told she received too much money to qualify. Her only income is $2,065 monthly in Social Security and survivor benefits, which barely covers her essential living expenses, she said.
Walriven-Lawson's story echoes the narratives of hundreds of older retirees that Business Insider has interviewed. Many are swept up in a retirement crisis as rising costs stretch how much their Social Security can cover.
Health problems compound financial insecurity
Walriven-Lawson started working in factories when she was 18, earning $1.60 an hour in 1968. She built a middle-class life, moving up from service roles as a waitress and truck driver to a travel agent. But then her health problems began stacking up in her late 40s.
Walriven-Lawson was diagnosed with various chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease in her spine, and severe osteoarthritis in both hands. She had to stop working in 2000.
Now, Walriven-Lawson has a collapsed disc in her spine that limits her mobility and needs an X-ray checkup on her hands, as she had undergone a bilateral thumb joint removal.
With her son struggling to find employment, her Social Security checks pay for their one-bedroom apartment, where rent is $835 a month plus $125 in electric utility bills.
She also has to pay for doctors' appointments and prescriptions, including a Medicare premium of $177 a month. Medicaid helped her cover costs that Medicare didn't, and without it, she can't afford the treatment she needs. So now she's trying to find work to cover the costs of the procedures.
Money is so tight, she said there have been times she and her son could only afford to eat peanut butter jelly sandwiches.
"I have slept on a couch for three years, but cannot afford two bedrooms," said Walriven-Lawson. "I have no food. No money. Unpaid bills, no car."
Holding on to hope
Walriven-Lawson feels anxious looking at the road ahead but isn't ready to give up. She's fighting to restore her Medicaid benefits so she can address her health concerns, she said.
"Of most importance is getting my benefits back so I can pay for my doctors and medicine," Walriven-Lawson said. "That would put approximately $400 back into my budget."
Once she's more financially stable, she said it will free up her energy to focus on finding a job. She hopes that by landing a new position, she'll be able to pay off her bills, receive her delayed health treatments, improve her credit score, and save toward a down payment on a house.
"It is a terrible blow to one's ego to have to beg for help," she said. "I have to go down with a fight. It's the way I was raised, and the way I have lived this long."
