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Nina, posted a great list of How to Survive. I am single with no second income, so as with many of us, it is especially hard to plan on what SS will or will not do and the speed with which they will do it. The difficultly/success of the process is also State to State. Although it is a Federal program (Social Security) it is managed by each State, and they are each so so different. I started my process in 2000 in Florida. After two years I had not one single word from them. I moved to south central NYS in 2003. I re-filed there. Within two weeks I had an appointment for a physical with an SS doctor. (I didn't take any meds that morning and even though I probably could have driven myself, I made sure my daughter drove me to the appointment. Within two weeks of this appoint I had an Award Letter in the mail. I do understand the "what will I do if I live on no-income for a period of time or have not health insurance for a period of time." I faced this problem. Here is a thought some may want to consider. I knew my disability insurance took three months to kick in. I crunched and crunched number here at home. I finally decided to step down from my middle management position and take a supervisory position. Of course I didn't tell my employer I had this plan, but it worked for me. My disability was approved (employers plan) because I "can't work at my original position" and at the end of the three months I quit and went to that disability. When I received my SS award it was a good day (retro to April 1 2003, not back to my initial disability date or the date I left work Nov 1, 2000), but when I calculated when Medicare would kick in.ouch.two years after the Award date, I could see that I would have six months of NO health insurance coverage at all, as my COBRA would lapse before the two years. Luckily for me I remained healthy for those six months! Today, I have LTD plus SSDI (of course the LTD is offset by the SSDI amount.a bummer) and I have Medicare and a Medigap Plan. I truly do not understand why the Medicate Advantage Plan(s) are even offered. What do they do that a combination of Medicare and Medigap don't do. I have never paid out a penny for anything, except for my annual eye exam, which has a $25 co-payment/deductible. I have never found a physician who didn't take Medicare. And I don't live in a metropolitan city. Don't here in PA, didn't in rural south central NYS. Carolyn I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself. Walter Anderson quotes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn