Few people who go through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) process realize that if they do in fact win a disability case and are found disabled they are not, many times, immediately eligible for Medicare.
Medicare was originally intended for Social Security retirement recipients, age 65 and older, but was later expanded to include people who qualified for Social Security disability benefits.
Adding a bunch of people to Medicare ended up being very costly for the federal government so it instituted a waiting period for people who were found disabled. This waiting period stated that those who are found to be disabled by the Social Security Administration, would have to wait a full two years prior to coverage from the date in which their first month of disability payments would begin.
This can be a real problem for people who suffer from serious disabilities that prevent them from working. In some instances, it is possible for some of these people to continue to get health insurance through a former employer’s COBRA plan or if they meet financial criteria they could qualify for Medicaid until meeting the waiting period requirements for Medicare, but others are not so lucky. It remains a fact that even though some people are found to be disabled under Social Security’s rules they have to go without medical coverage for a period of time and that is not likely to change anytime soon.
Fortunately, for a couple serious conditions, kidney failure (end stage renal disease) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, the Medicare waiting rules do not apply. It is estimated that over one-third of disability recipients don’t have access to health insurance coverage at some point during the Medicare waiting period.
To learn more about the rules as they apply to Medicare and Medicaid coverage please click here.
