Medicare and Social Security Disability Wait Period

When an individual receives approval for Social Security Disability benefits, this also means he or she has become eligible for the insurance program Medicare.

However, there is a 24-month wait period that begins when your Social Security Disability benefits are instated. So Medicare will not cover your medical bills until 24 months after you begin receiving monetary compensation from Social Security, and there is no back coverage.

There are some exceptions that may enable you to receive Medicare coverage sooner:

• If you received Social Security Disability benefits within the last five years, and there was a break in your benefits but you’ve been approved to resume them, you will not have to wait to be enrolled in Medicare.

• If you’ve been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), you will not have to wait.

• If you have end-stage renal disease, you will not have to wait.

Over the years, the US government has discussed eliminating the wait period between Social Security Disability benefits and Medicare coverage, but whether or not this will ever be passed remains to be seen.

If you have questions about your Social Security Disability claim, contact the expert Social Security Disability lawyers of Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law, for a free initial evaluation. You can call us toll-free at 1.877.526.3457 or send us an e-mail for a prompt response.