Efforts to Decrease Medicare Waiting Period

Medicare is a program designed for seniors and for individuals with permanent disabilities who are younger than the 65 age requirement to sign up for Medicare benefits.  Having Medicare benefits helps many millions of people offset medical expenses that they would otherwise have to pay themselves.

There can be issues regarding Medicare, however.  With open enrollment period upon us for choosing the type of coverage and supplements that would be best for you, it is a confusing time.  However, there is information and there are seminars available to help guide you through the process and help you to pick the most appropriate coverage.

There is another issue regarding Medicare which affects younger individuals who become disabled.  The issue is the 2 year waiting period.  The waiting period has been around for years and here is how it works.

At any time, about 1.5 million disabled people are waiting to qualify for Medicare coverage.  About 40% of these individuals are uninsured during at least part of that wait and 25% percent do not have insurance for the whole 2 years. Some of the rest who are waiting to become eligible might get coverage through Medicaid, but many end up depleting their savings and assets on private insurance and medical bills because Medicaid will only pay if the person is nearly destitute and has no other way to pay for medical care.

A new bill is being sent to lawmakers to help change the situation.  Several legislators presented a bill to begin shortening the waiting period gradually over the next 10 years until the waiting period is short enough and other assistance is in place so that people are not stranded without medical coverage.  The reason for reducing the wait gradually is that if it was reduced all at once, it would be too taxing on the system.

This has been a long time coming and it may seem that gradually reducing the waiting period over 10 years is also a long time.  That is true in some ways, but considering that the waiting period has been a huge issue for decades, at least there is progress.  Maybe things will go faster now that serious attention is beginning to be given to the situation.

Filed under: General-Medicare

Tags: disabled medicare recipients, General-Medicare, medicare coverage, medicare waiting period