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Each week, you'll receive a reading guide that distills core principles, offers actionable takeaways, and explains how they affect the current world. While the full ebook enriches the experience, the guides alone provide a comprehensive understanding of fundamental economic ideas.
You’ll find this course especially useful and unique because…
- It allows you to understand economics in action: Real-life examples and analysis of current events that show you economics at work.
- There’s no prior knowledge required: Complex ideas are broken into simple, relatable explanations.
- You can be flexible with your learning according to your lifestyle: Go at your own pace, with weekly guides that fit your schedule.
Get instant access today and keep an eye on your inbox for a confirmation email and your first lesson.
Apple
Spotify
Amazon
RSSSeason 4Episode 3Apr 15, 2021
The marriage penalty
After spending years fighting to get disability benefits, Amber was finally approved. But she and her wife, Diana, didn’t realize they had entered a complicated, arcane system where health care might cost them their marriage.
Maria Ponomariova/Getty Images
Amber and Diana got engaged after just a year of dating. Gay marriage was illegal in most states at the time, but it was more about the symbol, being committed. It would take six more years for them to tie the knot.
“I do remember, like, one of my vows … was the ‘in sickness and in health,'” Diana said. We’re using pseudonyms for both her and Amber to protect their privacy. “That was very important to me.”
“She knew I was a rough piece of work,” Amber said.
Amber had been diagnosed with a painful bladder condition when she was young — there was no cure, and they knew it would mean expensive treatments and doctor appointments for the rest of her life. Marriages come with all kinds of challenges, and Amber and Diana were ready to face them — for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.
But nothing could have prepared them for the maze of bureaucracy they would have to navigate to get disability benefits.
Amber got Supplemental Security Income, a program for low-income people with disabilities that provides cash assistance and access to Medicaid. The battle to get approved took three years and a court date. But staying eligible for SSI means meeting strict income and asset limits — Amber and Diana learned they couldn’t have more than $2,000 in savings, a number that hasn’t changed since 1989.
“It’s like our government wants to keep us in a state of abject, complete poverty in order to get any sort of health care” Diana said.
On today’s show, we’ll follow her and Amber’s odyssey through that complicated, arcane system — and the crushing revelation that the best way to keep their marriage vows might be getting divorced.
If you liked this episode, send it to a loved one dealing with the health care system.
For more “This Is Uncomfortable,” subscribe to our newsletter! It’s not just a link to the podcast — every Friday, you’ll get a new, exclusive Uncomfortable story, recommendations from our team and a note from Reema. This week, she talks about celebrating Ramadan during the pandemic. Here’s the latest issue, in case you missed it.
Finally, if you want to tell us what you thought of this episode or anything else, drop us a line at 347-RING-TIU (347-746-4848), email us at uncomfortable@marketplace.org or fill out the form below.
The Team
- Reema Khrais Host
- Megan Detrie Senior Producer
- Hayley Hershman Senior Producer
- Peter Balonon-Rosen Producer
- Phoebe Unterman Producer
- Marielle Segarra Producer
- Camila Kerwin Producer
- Marque Greene Producer