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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why not get a job and work? There are quadriplegics on ventilators who work. There are people with severe multiple sclerosis who don't demand our tax dollar support them. Why can't you work?[/quote]

Many do, but they are more likely to experience much longer times finding work, periods when they cannot work (someone on a vent is at high risk for all kinds of medical complications), it depends on their skills and what kinds of assets they had when they became disabled. Say you're an architect and you have spinal cord injury that leaves you paralyzed below the waist. First you're going to be out of work for an extended time to treat the injury (which may come with other injuries and complications) and rehab. If you're lucky enough not to have to depend on UHC to pay for rehab and can fork out extra money for the best possible program and sufficient time, you'll be better prepared to live and work independently. You can pay for the extras in terms of adaptive equipment and to modify your home. Because you were a senior member of your firm and maybe a partner, you get a lot of encouragement from your employer to come back. Now say you're a 27 yo who has a head injury, your mom is a single parent who lives in a one bedroom apartment. She takes you in, but you're hard to live with because your head injury has impacted your personality, behavior, memory it takes a toll on her, you're sleeping on the couch, once rehab has you walking and talking you're done, there's no intensive coaching to help you find work, you eventually get very low skilled work in a factory but then you have seizures and they're afraid of liability for a work injury and let you go.

Many people with congenital disabilities also live longer than they used to.

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