"Aimee" #08

"[If I could spend less on healthcare costs, it would] relieve the stress of my daily requirements of food, shelter, and clothing.... Those are factors that are dealt with daily. I know we can group it together in a monthly situation, but sometimes it seems like it's close to being weekly. I have concerns about not being able to meet my obligations or my needs. Mostly the needs."

"Jaime" #16

He would like to save money for the future, but his social security payments are insufficient. He can't plan too much in advance. "I'd like to, but sometimes it's not possible. With what I get, I can't make many plans."

"Yvonne" #03

"I mean, I have a lot of support from my children. And, you know, they look out for me. I don't really have to have too much want for anything. But, if I didn't have their support, it would be really hard. Because I didn't know as many people needed help from their family members until I came out here to Texas. Because when I was in Chicago, it's like, even the older people, everybody stayed by themselves or with their family members if that's what they wanted to do... And everybody was more self-sufficient. But out here, it's a lot of people that need to stay with their children. Not the children staying with them, but the parents staying with their children. Because it's like, with the prices going so high and rent and stuff, they can't make it by themselves. So, they're pretty much forced to go stay with their children. Because a lot of them can't find housing.... I've met people where they will try and rent out rooms to other people, but you know, they'd be scared to because if they rent it to people, they didn't know, then that could be harmful or dangerous. So, they always tried to rent to people, like, from the centers that they would go to, if they did, or through somebody else that might know somebody.... [I] wouldn't be comfortable with doing something like that. So, I figured myself to be lucky."

"April" #09

"My ability to get from place to place is a problem because of my car.... I can't drive my car now because of the brakes.... [The] little money I have coming in every month with social security, I am able to put away for emergencies. If the kitties need to go to the vet.... I was going to get my brakes fixed with some of that money, but sure enough, if I do, something's going to happen to the kitties. So I do have emergency money. I would love to get a job again. I would love to go back to work, but it all comes down to not being able to afford to do that. I would need my car fixed."

"Jaime" #11

He talks about what he has not liked about aging. "Well, that many times many things are denied to you. Many things are denied to you. Some that, doing your normal activities, sap your strength, and many times in jobs, they belittle you. When you apply for a job. Your age is an obstacle to being able to fit in. Even more so if you're sick, like with my knee, or something, even less. They don't even give you an application form because they say, 'No, why would I want this person?'."

"Jason" #13

Finances are tight, and he has no expendable income. He has visited a job center in the past, but his disability is an issue. "It's a struggle because then I become depressed and say, well, you know, I want to work, but they won't let me work because I'm in the wheelchair. But it affects my head. You know, it messes me up sometimes. So I have to fight through it."

"Marcela" #09

"I have a bad back. [But if I could work, I would do something] like babysitting or maybe a little bit of ironing. Or part-time cleaning. But I have asthma really bad. And sometimes that... can get people fired when they know you're sick.... I still feel strong though to work. But sometimes I've been down and, oh, right here I have arthritis. It's really bad. So I have to take my hydrocodeine. It's heavy stuff. And I put my ointment on, but I can't work every day.... But I wish I could work. In the movies, just, you know, tearing the ticket as a person goes in, sitting on my butt, and just tearing the ticket. You know how they pay. That'd be easy, but it's not gonna happen."

"Melanie" #21

She describes the catch-22 of Medicaid: if you're on the edge of eligibility for Medicaid then obtain a part-time job to help fill your time then you are off of Medicaid. "You're off of it. Then you're paying your Part B premium. You're paying 20% of your drugs, your doctors or tests. Well, that would take up all the money you're making. So you, you'd be right back where you were. And so, why even try? That would be fulfilling to be able to do that and to work again."

"Daniela" #15

She has a Medicare Flex card, but it doesn't cover one of her medications. She cannot afford the medication out of pocket and will go without it. "I can't get it because it's not on my flex card. But I need it. But I can't afford it. So what I do, I go without it. Or what? I give $400 behind in rent because I had to pay $200 for this medicine. So it's like a seesaw, you know. Rob Peter to pay Paul and then you never catch up."

"Maude" #02

"[I choose] whether I pay my phone bill or not. If I don't pay my phone bill, then I'll call them up and say, well, can I pay this amount and then pay the rest of it next month? And they'll go, yeah, that's fine. So, basically they all work with me when I'm trying to pay my bills. So, it kind of works out in the long run."

"Renee" #04

"For years, my mom tried to get help with her medicine, and she couldn't get it. They wouldn't give it to her. She paid her taxes, she bought her house, and then because she owned her house and because she tried to save money, they wouldn't help her because they said she had money. She could use that, and she said, but you know, I've got other bills, but they don't want to hear that. I think that when you get older as a senior, you shouldn't have to pay any more property tax. I don't think that if you work as a senior, you should... they should take out taxes. But Congress is not going to listen... or the government is not going to listen to us."

"Renee" #19

"[The healthcare system is failing seniors in that they are] not being able to adequately pay for the things that you really need. To the point that... you have to let go of certain things in order to pay for your medicines [or] getting to a doctor."

"Rita" #05

"I know citizens that are on limited income. When it comes to the summer, especially the summer, they make a choice of whether to be cool, to have an air conditioner running, pay their medical, pay their medicine, or eat. There's so many of them that live here.... It gets to 120 degrees, 118 outside. If you're indoors and you don't have an air conditioner, the fans don't help. All it is hot air moving around. So, it really doesn't help. The air conditioner bill could be high. Mine doesn't get very high, but you notice it's kind of cold in here.... This house stays cool in the summer. I can have it at 82 degrees, and I'm cold in here. But some other ones don't have that.... This summer I was hearing people saying they were getting $400 bills, and... if you're on a limited budget, that's high. Very high."

"Sarah" #07

"Most of the time [my insurance covers my needs].... I just have to make a big copay every time. And that's what irritates me because then I have to, like, decide if I'm gonna buy this or pay for my medicine.... Most of the time I let the medicine go. I'm supposed to be on medicine, but I don't pick it up and I don't take it.... I have to pay [for my prescriptions]. I have to pay $10 and $15 for every one. So, I don't always have it, so I've decided I don't want to take medicine. I want to live as long as I can without it. So, I don't take the medicine. [I buy] food and stuff."

"Yvonne" #20

She feels her healthcare doesn't meet all her needs due to costs. "I still need to pay a portion of a doctor's fee or something. It would be helpful if I had Social Security or Medicaid to pick up some of the slack because my finances don't really help. I'll admit, some of those bills are not paid yet, but it's not that I won't try to pay them eventually." She elaborates on how she prioritizes paying her bills. "The things that I use on a daily basis. Like [the] mortgage, light, gas, phone. I want to keep just all the elements of living. But when I do go to the doctors if I have to pay copays, I will do that because I have... them to help me. As far as other bills, if I can't, I can't. And like I said, usually those bills will get paid, but it won't be on a timely basis. Because something's always coming up."

"Bonita" #19

She receives food stamps, but they are not enough and needs to use some money from her social security to cover food costs. "Even if you have food stamps, it's not enough for the month.... It's not enough for the month, I tell you.... We can't cover all the food costs.... It's supplemented with the money we receive from the [social security] check."

"Daniela" #09

Her two children have food stamps and feed the family. She also uses free food banks. "Don't even talk about buying food. I ain't that, you know. If it wasn't for her food stamps or my daughter… My oldest daughter getting food stamps or these free food banks and stuff, that refrigerator would be empty."

"Renee" #13

"I would like to see more healthcare things that they need as far as vision, dental, just more things that they would cover. When you go to the doctor, it's so much that we have to cover. They cover and we cover. Even though it's 20% [we are responsible for], that percent can be astronomical. And so then you left with all these medical bills that keep adding up. So I think that if they could cover more than the medical expenses, then we wouldn't have to worry so much, but it just doesn't seem to be that way and be able to give us where we can get food, quality food. Because, I mean, I've heard this lady saying that she buys cat food. And I was like, 'You do what?' She says, 'Well, it's tuna, it's like, you know, it's cheaper than buying tuna.'"

"Sherrie" #23

"I'm struggling with trying to go and get something [done] to the house. Fixing on the house and different things, that's the main thing. I don't eat a lot of meat, which is more expensive, [and] he'll eat... breakfast and lunch [at the day care]. So he only eats one meal here, unless it's a snack later on. We pay the bills. We pull together our money and do that unless it's something major coming up like the air conditioning might mess up or the roof or something.... Sometimes it's hard, depends on what's going on."

"Daisy" #09

Despite having different health insurance providers, she and her sister receive a benefit card from their respective insurance companies that allows them to pay for things such as gas, groceries, or pet food. They both have noted that this benefit has been a godsend. "It was $300 for three months, so it was $100 a month. But that's a lot of money when you don't have any.... Actually, I got $300 and then I got $275 over the counter.... I got almost $200 a month. The way they divided it I can't use all my [benefits] over-the-counter.... Now the new card that I'm going to get in January, it's all one card. It's all good for everything. If I want to spend a hundred dollars on gas, I can. If I want to spend a hundred dollars on over-the-counter supplies, I can." She notes that her balance does not carry over unlike her sister's. "At the end of the three months, what I have left goes away. Well, at the end of her three months, it carries over to the next three months. Which makes a difference."

"Dennis" #03

"I come [to the senior center] as often as I can. Coming here and having lunch stretches my food money. It helps me financially to have lunch here, and they are nutritionally balanced. I just think it is wonderful that they have this facility, and I am able to take advantage of having well-prepared, good lunches Monday through Friday."

"Genevieve" #01

"Another saving grace is the drug company that I get this drug through, they have a foundation. That foundation is a godsend. Without that foundation, I probably wouldn't be walking today. Because that foundation funds that drug for me. I have to apply every year for that drug to be funded. Through that drug company. But that foundation, this year I'm amazed. Two weeks, I sent them what they needed. You have to provide income. You have to provide this. You have to provide that. I [said], Oh, here we go again. It's November. I have to wait till January for them to decide if they're going to approve me or deny me again. I stress for two, three months every year.... This year, God, a higher power, something, my doctor, within two weeks, I got a letter in the mail from this drug company. When I saw the envelope, I said, oh, please don't tell me they're going to deny me... they moved too fast. The only time they've moved that fast is when they [sent] me a denial letter. I opened that letter, and I was glad I was sitting down because I was so relieved. They approved me for next year. Oh my God, the weight of the world was lifted. You'll just never know how stressful that is. I go through that every year. And if it wasn't for that foundation today, I almost guaranteed I would be either in a wheelchair or not be able to be mobile to do the things I do. I can't say enough about foundations. They are a godsend. They help a lot of people. I know... there's a system to everything.... Fill out this form. Do this form. Here's another paper. Oh, we forgot this. Here. You know, complete this paper. Who cares? If that foundation asks you to do it, do it. Because nine times out of ten, they're going to help you."

"Harriet" #06

"With UnitedHealthcare, they give you so much money [to] seniors for grocery. You can even take it and pay a bill with it.... Say, you get $150 a month, I think that's a blessing. You don't have to pay for it, go in the grocery store, just swipe your card. But now they done cut it back to 130.... You don't have to go to the drugstore. But you can buy your personal items and things also. But it's a limit to what you can buy. You can't just go in and pick up anything.... They send you a booklet which you can buy and cannot buy."

"Laura" #14

"The City of Dallas, or Dallas County, I'll put it in this way, has a place somewhere on the outskirts of downtown Dallas that you can go and get free shots. For individuals, for children and adults. They have a program there, and I really like that because one time I had to use that facility because I couldn't get a doctor's appointment and I needed that. I think it was my flu shot. And I went down there and all I had to do is show my license and my medical card and I got what I needed. So, people, senior citizens, do not know all the programs for us. So we need someone to facilitate with us and tell us what is available for senior citizens. We do not know that."

"Laura" #28

"We do get food from a food bank every 4th Thursday. You can sign up on a tablet downstairs with your name and saying I would like to have a box for January 2024 on the 4th Thursday of the month. They go to the church and load the boxes and bring it back to us, and we're down in the lobby waiting for our time to get our box. And matter of fact, before they go to church to get the boxes, I'm a member of that church. And if I run out before then, I can just go to the head person over the food pantry and say, hey, I need something and I could get it. I never had to do that because I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna I guess... abuse the system. I'm not that type of person to abuse the system."

"Maude" #14

"Luckily when I'm going through the hospital, they've got what's called community care, which also helps pay for some of my bills at the hospital. I try to refer people to that.... Community care helps pay for your doctor bill and also for medication there at the hospital. If you have to go get x-rays... they'll pay that and everything. So it's not a burden on the person that's going to get the help.... I just [went] in and [asked] for an application.... You just need to take verification of your ID, Social Security, your income, and your rate receipts.... Even if [you have] more than what Medicaid says you have, community care will say, we can't let you do this for free, but we will charge you a small amount. Which usually, it's not that much. Maybe like $50 when you go in there. So that kind of helps a lot of people out."

"Maya" #07

"Humana... give you like $400 for eye exam. They pay for your glasses; they pay for your exam.... If you're exercising, they give you, let's say,... $35. They give you like little gift cards for doing [activities] and communication with people and stuff like that.... But the biggest thing... is like when you're going to the doctors and stuff, they pay like $35 for a mammogram.... Devoted [health insurance] it's going to give you a little bit more than what Humana was giving you. But now a lot of people leaving Humana because Humana is not paying for a lot of stuff that they advertise on TV."

"Mercedes" #12

"I don't own a house. This is an apartment I'm renting, and everything I get from the supplemental is just for here, to pay rent and bills. If it wasn't for food stamps, then I'd be hungry."

"Sally" #02

As part of her Medicare Part C benefits, they covered the cost of a smartwatch that could contact emergency services. However, they will discontinue paying for this service at the end of the year. She will still be able to purchase it using her benefits card. The card allows her to spend up to $170 a month. "I can pay $33 a month and take it out of that spending card so I can keep this bracelet. So if I fall, all they've got to do is call someone... to come pick me up. Which is a real nice security. And they do have like the button in the bathroom and that stuff too.... [Insurance will stop paying for that] December 31st. But then you can get on Medicaid C. I'm on Medicaid C. Medicare C the benefit card will now pay for this.... It's starting the first of January. And they'll just automatically take that $33 off of the card. I don't have to do anything other than if I want to stop it, call in and stop it. Which is a godsend because that extra $170 a month to spend [on] pet food or vitamins or groceries or a watermelon or over-the-counter products. That's an awful lot of money to supplement your lifestyle."

"Sam" #07

"I'm in a program with the state of Iowa called Extra Help. I talked to my insurance company, I said... this is the best insurance that you guys have that will satisfy me, and the state of Iowa will pay, I think the insurance was $39 a month. This year, it was $34 a month and they paid everything... and next year, they're going to pay it all. But I have to... stay on top of it to find out and make sure that I qualify. Because you know, I don't want to end up paying 39 a month if I don't have to.... I have like 20 different kind of medications. And they pay most of that. Some of my medications are like, well, over $100 for a 30-day supply.... I know the medication I take now is over $1,000. One of the twenty. That I have to pay. I just wouldn't have it. Simple as that, you know. So I have to stay on top of that. But nobody tells you that. I just have to call people and ask them. I say, you know, how can I do this? Or how can I do that, you know? Who do I talk to?"

"Sophia" #13

"My light bill, I get a little help but I have to have big work. The community actions – they help you to fill out the application and will help if you qualify for it. They have helped me a couple of times, but not every time."