I have another question. My brother, who is 48 years old, had a massive stroke in April. He lives with his friend who works at Home Depot and doesn't earn a lot of money. They are not married. He has always worked for companies that paid him with a 1099. Even though I believe some of these companies should have had him on payroll. But anyway. Now he is disabled and waiting on some type of financial assistance and has never really qualified for Social Security. He's receiving food stamps and that's about it. Is anyone familiar with California Medicaid, SSI, and Social Security, I'm not real sure about the difference in all of them and I would like to help him as best I can. His girlfriend is trying to do her best, but she works full-time and I don't want to leave it all on her. He is getting physical therapy, but his speech was impaired and he's not able to return to his old job. Any thoughts? Any job re-training programs?
However, if he did not pay into social security and state payroll taxes, he can only receive SSI. That is a disability payment through the Social Security administration. The state of California adds a small amount of money to the SSI payment in lieu of SNAP, so he would no longer receive separate food stamps. But SSI includes no-cost MediCal, the California version of Medicaid.
I suggest starting at the Social Security office. They should be able to tell him which program he should apply for. In order for you to assist in the application process, he will need to sign a form allowing you to act on his behalf during the application process.
Don't know about CA, but look for a Dept of Workforce Development, Occupational Rehabilitation, or a similar agency.