medicare waiting period?

[tortis]

Hi, I Was approved for ssi disability 2 years ago this May. At that time I had to wait 5 months before I received any money which I did, now they are telling me I have to wait 2 years from when I received my first payment before Medicare will start. Originally I was told Medicare would start 2 years from when I was approved. The wording was very confusing. Could you please let me know how this should be as we have pretty much drained everything we saved for retirement with huge medical bills and I was told medicare starts 2 years from when you get the letter. Really appreciate any help you can give us.
Tortis

[MSW1963]

tortis, there have been studies to evalutate the accuracy of info from SSDI Reps/CSRs'? and the results were not very good. SSDI is so complicated that even their SSDI trained Reps/CSRs' often give out inaccurate information.

Hope you hear from Rich Feingold soon and take care.

[MSer102]

That must have been quite a shock to find out what you were told wasn't true! I'm sure that Medicare goes by the written law and not by what a representative said or what a person heard. The Social Security website says "You will receive Medicare after you receive disability benefits for 24 months. When you become eligible for disability benefits, we will automatically enroll you in Medicare. We start counting the 24 months from the month you were entitled to receive disability, not the month when you received your first check."

The month a person is entitled to receive disability benefits is after the 5 month waiting period from the date of disability. You already know about the waiting period.

So doing the math that means 24 months from the month you were eligible for disability benefits which is 5 months + 24 months from your date of disability.

I'm guessing by "the letter" you mean the one that said you qualify for disability on such and such a date. SSDI eligibilty would start 5 months after that date. That's not the date you got the first check because the check actually comes a month later so I think that's what the Medicare website means by not the month you received your first check.

The website says that Medicare eligibility starts 24 months after the waiting period which is 29 months from the date of disability. I'm assuming that the website says what the actual law says and that trumps anything anybody else told you. I'm so sorry!

[tortis]

Hi, Thanks for the responses. I read it about the same as you MSer102,darn it. Hopefully Rich will have something better to say. Of course I just got back from my neurologist and she said the MonSter was raising its ugly head again and she wants me to get more M.R.I.s of course it seems like every spring and every summer I am visited by the MonSter. Well I need to quit whining and see what he says.
PEACE
Tortis

[Rich Feingold]

DIB Date of Entitlement and Waiting Period

Hi, everyone. Sorry for my absence from the board for a period. I'm glad to be back answering your posts!

There is something that I want to add to this thread regarding Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) and Medicare. Medicare commence 24 months following the "date of entitlement" to DIB. The date of entitlement commences following the end of the 5 month waiting period. The 5 month waiting period cannot commence more than 17 months prior to the DIB application.

So one is eligible for full Medicare 24 months from the "date of entitlement" to DIB or 29 months after the beginning of the 5 month waiting period. See http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answ...ity-disability.

Let's say that you filed your DIB application on July 11, 2012 and you were determined disabled as of August 8, 2010, when you stopped working. What is the date of entitlement (to DIB payments) and to Medicare benefits?

Let's first determine when is the waiting period. 17 months prior to July 11, 2012 is February 2011. The waiting period would be the five month period from February through June 2011. DIB payments would be paid back to July 2011 (hence the term "past due benefits"), which is one year prior to the DIB application date. July 2011 is the date of entitlement to DIB.

Medicare would commence in July 2013, which is 24 months from the July 2011 date of entitlement or 29 months from the beginning of the waiting period.

Rich

[tortis]

Hi Rich, I just wanted to thank you for your response. Looks like I need to wait til Nov. Once again thanks for the response.
Tortis

[Rich Feingold]

Check your DIB NOA for Medicare information

Your DIB Notice of Award may specify when you are eligible for Medicare. It also may specify when a continuing disability review will be.

Rich