Medicare Eligibility If On Social Security Disability

Claimants who are approved for concurrent disability benefits should consult their local social security office regarding their medicare medicaid eligibility.

Medicare eligibility if on social security disability.

But because social security only allows a maximum of 12 months of retroactive benefits plus the 5 month waiting period for benefits the earliest that you can become eligible for medicare is one year after you apply for social security disability. If you get social security disability income ssdi and have medicare. In such instances the issue of whether a claimant will get medicare or medicaid is not so cut and dry. Everyone eligible for social security disability insurance ssdi benefits is also eligible for medicare after a 24 month qualifying period.

Medicare is available for certain people with disabilities who are under age 65. This social security disability list of impairments details all qualifying medical conditions that meet the test for disability. These individuals must have received social security disability benefits for 24 months or have end stage renal disease esrd or amyotropic lateral sclerosis als also known as lou gehrig s disease. Medicare doesn t determine who is eligible for disability coverage.

On the other hand if you recently became disabled and applied for social security disability and they approved you with an entitlement date of october 2010 you wouldn t be eligible to receive medicare benefits until october of 2012. For instance let s pretend you became disabled in july 2016. You don t need to take any further steps if the social security administration has approved your disability application. You re considered covered under the health care law and don t have to pay the penalty that people without coverage must pay.

During this qualifying period for medicare the beneficiary may be eligible for health insurance through a. You would have to wait 2 years before you were covered by the medicare program. The first 24 months of disability benefit entitlement is the waiting period for medicare coverage. Medicare and social security are federally managed benefits that you re entitled to based on your age the number of years you have paid into the system or if you have a qualifying disability.