Does Medicare Automatically Come with SSDI?
If you suffer from a disability, you may wonder if you get Medicare with SSDI. As a Memphis SSDI lawyer who has helped hundreds of people get the benefits they need, I hear this question a lot.
Here’s what you need to understand about Medicare and SSDI, and how to get approved for both.
SSDI Comes with Medicare
Yes, if you qualify for SSDI, it will automatically come with Medicare.
However, this benefit doesn’t begin until after 24 months. That timeline starts on the first month you receive SSDI benefits. It doesn’t go back to when you became disabled or when you applied. So it can be a long wait.
Assuming you applied for SSDI and were approved, once your benefits begin, you will receive Medicare on your 25th month.
The SSA makes a timeline exception for ALS. If you’ve been diagnosed with ALS and get approved for SSDI, your Medicare benefits will begin immediately.
What Medicare with SSDI Covers
Medicare is a federal health insurance program that covers basic medical expenses, usually for people over 65. It also applies to people younger than 65 who qualify for SSDI.
The Medicare that comes with SSDI includes both Medicare A and Medicare B.
Medicare Part A is often referred to as “hospital insurance.” It covers inpatient hospital care and related services, like:
- Hospital stays
- Nursing facility care (after a hospital stay)
- Hospice care
- Some home health care services
Medicare Part B is also known as “medical insurance.” It covers outpatient services and medically necessary supplies, like:
- Doctor’s visits and services
- Preventive services, like screenings and vaccinations
- Medical equipment (e.g., wheelchairs, walkers)
Together, these two parts of the Medicare system cover the vast majority of most people’s medical needs and come with relatively small co-pays. As a result, receiving SSDI can greatly lower your healthcare costs.
How to Shorten Your Wait for SSDI
It can make a huge difference to receive Medicare while on SSDI. But unfortunately, not only do you have to wait 24 months to receive those benefits, you also have a long wait to receive SSDI in the first place.
At the time of this writing, the SSA is experiencing a crisis in record wait times for all applicants. Some people are waiting for months or even years to receive their benefits. And because the SSA denies the majority of applications, it can feel like a never-ending maze of paperwork and frustration.
With that in mind, you should do everything you can to make the process go as quickly as possible. The sooner you get your SSDI benefits, the sooner you can get Medicare and all the other assistance you need.
How We Can Help
If you’ve been denied SSDI, you have 60 days to appeal the decision. During that time, you should speak with an attorney. This is the way many if not most people get their benefits in the end.
A lawyer helps you figure out what went wrong on your initial application; and they can help you get the benefits you need by fixing those errors and gathering supporting evidence, then representing you at hearings so you have the best chance of success.
For decades, we’ve helped the people of Memphis fix their applications and show the SSA exactly why they need SSDI. And it’s not expensive: we only get paid if you win, and we only receive a small fraction of your past-due benefits. You keep everything moving forward, including all of those Medicare benefits.
This hard work is an honor for us, and as a result we’ve won multiple awards for client satisfaction. We would love to help you, too.
To get started, contact us today for a free appointment, no strings attached. We can answer your questions and give you a better idea of what this all involves. We look forward to talking with you.