What Medicare Coverage Do You Receive with a Disability?

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD) provides financial benefits to workers and former workers who can no longer work due to nonwork-related illness or injury. The program is limited only to those with long-term disabilities, meaning that the person cannot work for at least 12 months.

Most people who become disabled after a lifetime of work presume that Medicare will cover people who qualify for SSD benefits. Unfortunately, Medicare is not extended to people who qualify for SSD benefits until they complete a two-year waiting period. Medicare kicks in to cover people receiving SSD benefits once the two years have elapsed. The waiting period begins to count from the onset date of your disability.

Concerned You Won’t Have Medicare When You Receive Disability Benefits?

At The Keener Law Firm – Advocates for Medicaid and Social Security Disability, we share your concern about not getting Medicare coverage until you wait for two years. Disabled people have medical expenses and need immediate treatment for physical or mental impairments.

The fact that an SSD recipient was approved for benefits means the government agrees that they cannot work due to an impairment. It makes no sense to us that the government continues to deny Medicare coverage to these disabled individuals. Our entire team of trained, professional disability advocates is devoted to getting you all the disability benefits and health coverage possible.

As you will read in this blog post, you may be eligible for Medicaid or other healthcare insurance if you are not qualified for Medicare or you are in your waiting period.

Why Don’t You Get Medicare Coverage Immediately?

In 2021, the government spent $829 billion dollars for Medicare, mostly for physician and clinical services. With that large a cost, it’s no wonder that the government is not eager to add more participants who need healthcare to their rolls.

However, there is more to it than that. Millions of people who are receiving SSD benefits because of an illness or injury that began within the previous two years are married to a spouse whose workplace health insurance covers them.

Others have applied for and been approved for Medicaid soon after they suffered their disabling impairment. Remember, Social Security Disability often takes between 4 and 18 months to be approved once the claim is filed. During that time, claimants have learned about other available health insurance available to them. Social Security has decided that the majority of claimants find suitable coverage without Medicare.

Advocates throughout the U.S. have been lobbying Congress to eliminate the 2-year Medicare waiting period or shorten it to one year. As of the time of this writing, a 2-year waiting period is still required.

Medicaid and Other State Health Insurance Assistance

Medicaid is a government-funded health insurance program for people whose income and financial assets are too limited to afford private health insurance coverage. Each state sets its own eligibility criteria.

Some states set income and financial resource eligibility caps much higher than others. The Keener Law Firm – Advocates for Medicaid and Social Security Disability, no matter where you live in the U.S.

We can help you prepare your Medicaid application and use our knowledge about how to qualify for coverage in your individual circumstances.

Some states also supply supplements to the basic benefits to help applicants meet their obligations. And other publicly funded assistance programs can provide some of the following benefits:

• government housing subsidies,
• SNAP benefits (Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program)
• heating assistance
• discounted utility rates
• transportation vouchers

You May Qualify for SSI and Immediate Medicaid Coverage

The Social Security Disability Insurance program provides financial assistance to people who have worked many years and paid taxes for the coverage. Another program also covers disabled people; you may qualify for SSD and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

Unlike the SSD program, SSI is a needs-based program designed to give financial support to disabled individuals with low incomes and few financial resources. Depending on the amount of your monthly SSD payment, you may still earn little enough to be eligible for SSI.

SSI recipients are immediately enrolled in Medicaid without any waiting period.

To be eligible for SSI benefits, an applicant cannot have more than $ 934 monthly in “unearned income.” SSI recipients can perform some work and earn income, a large portion of which is not counted. According to the Social Security Administration, “a person who gets SSI can earn up to $1,913 a month” and still receive benefits.

SSI accounting rules are complex and cannot be explained in this brief blog post. But The Keener Law Firm, Advocates for Medicaid, and Social Security Disability will go through your numbers to help you qualify for all the benefits for which you are eligible.