Now that Susan was healthy again, she had to make a choice: Did she want to try going solo one more time? Or should she play it safe and go to work for another more established firm? After all she’d been through, the idea of working for someone else appealed to Susan. It was less of a hassle. And she could get health care through her employer. On the other hand, Susan felt like she was close to making it big right before the accident. She wanted to give it one more try.

First, however, she needed to clarify a couple of things. Not having health coverage had cost her almost all her savings. She didn’t want to repeat the same mistake. She also wanted to know how returning to work was going to affect her disability benefits.

She needed to talk to an expert. She remembered speaking to a benefits planner who had helped her while she was in the hospital . So she called the benefits expert once again hoping to find some answers.

“I remember you—the architect,” Tom, the benefits planner, said when he got Susan’s call. “Glad to hear you’re feeling better. So what are your current plans?”

Susan explained her latest predicament: She wanted to go to work for herself again, but she didn’t want to make the same mistake she did before.

“No doubt,” Tom paused, realizing that perhaps he was being a little indelicate. “I mean, there are ways for self-employed folks to get health coverage. In your case, Susan, you may be able to access health insurance and long-term disability coverage through the state architects’ association.” Professional associations sometimes provide such services to their members. Tom also told her that she could voluntarily enroll in the state’s disability insurance program, which would pay her more than half her income should anything happen.

“What about my checks from Social Security? Will I still get them if I start working again?” Susan asked.

“This is a little more complicated,” Tom said.

The short version, Tom said, goes like this: She’d continue to collect her $950 SSDI check for at least her first nine months back at work, giving her some flexibility while she got her business back up and running. She could elect to continue her Medi-Cal by enrolling in the 250% California Working Disabled program, but she’d have to pay a premium, and she’d become ineligible if her earnings or savings became too great.

	Susan found private group health coverage through her professional association.

In the days following her talk with Tom, Susan moved quickly. She enrolled in private group health coverage through the architects’ association and chose to let her Medi-Cal lapse so she could rebuild her nest egg. She also signed up for state disability elective coverage. She was excited! Maybe, now, things could return to normal again in the not too distant future. And this time she was going to do it right.

When Griffin came home from school, Susan hugged him before he could even take off his backpack.

“What’s with you?” the teen asked.

“What do you say we go get a movie?” Susan suggested.

“What’s it gonna be tonight, ma? Lassie?”

Susan just smiled. “Just get in the car.”

When the two pulled in front of Blockbuster, Griffin couldn’t believe it. “You mean, no Benji video from the library tonight?”

“That’s right, kiddo,” Susan said. “Pick out anything you want from the ‘new releases’ section.”

“Wow! Thanks ma.” Griffin pecked her on the cheek, grabbed her Blockbuster card and jumped out of the car. Susan started fearing that she’d given her son too long of a leash in choosing the evening’s entertainment.”

“Hey,” she shouted after him, “just don’t get anything too gory.”

“Right,” Griffin shot back, “no Cujo.”