If you win your claim for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), you are also eligible to receive Medicare benefits. But, you don’t get Medicaid right away, with some exceptions, you have to be “in pay status” for 24 months before you become eligible for Medicaid.
That means you have to be receiving 24 months of Social Security disability insurance to get Medicare.
Another two years? I just waited two years to get my case approved.
Fortunately, Social Security considers your back benefits when they count the 24 months. So, if Social Security 24 months of back Social Security disability insurance, you are already “in pay status” for 24 months, and you can get Medicare now.
Aren’t there any exceptions to the 24 month Medicare waiting period?
Only two. If you have one of the following conditions, the waiting period does not apply and you can get Medicare immediately:
- End stage renal disease.
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lour Gehrig’s disease).
