In this USA Today article, the impact of the two year wait for Medicare benefits for people with disabilities is discussed. It reads in part:
"Each year, tens of thousands of Americans like McCutchan find themselves disabled and unable to work. After going through the process to get Social Security disability income, most are shocked to discover that they have to wait two more years to be eligible for Medicare, the federal health program for elderly and disabled people.
...There are no precise estimates of how many people, insured or uninsured, are in the waiting period, but the number probably ranged from 1.4 million to 1.5 million in 2003, says a report by researcher Gerald Riley published in the journal Inquiry in fall 2006. Of those, a National Institute on Aging Health and Retirement Study in 2001 estimated that 27% to 39% had been uninsured at some point during their waiting period.
Often, that's because they are too ill to qualify for private insurance, their Social Security income puts them over the limit for Medicaid coverage and they can't afford to continue insurance through their former employers."
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1 comment:
"Often, that's because they are too ill to qualify for private insurance, their Social Security income puts them over the limit for Medicaid coverage and they can't afford to continue insurance through their former employers."
Yes, and OOBRA only continues the option of partially subsidized coverage for 18 months. So a 2-year waiting period codifies a 6-month gap in coverage in the BEST possible scenario.
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