A change in federal law effective this
summer should provide quicker access to essential medical
equipment and services for people with ALS who receive Social
Security Disability Insurance income. Starting July 1, people
with ALS who get SSDI also will be eligible to obtain Medicare
benefits when they begin receiving SSDI checks.
Under the current law, those who qualify for SSDI must wait
two years before being enrolled in Medicare. The new law,
passed by Congress in December, exempts people with ALS because
of the rapid decline in health most experience after diagnosis.
The disease's quick progression creates a need for extensive
medical care and equipment before the two-year waiting period
is up.
As of July 1, everyone with ALS who receives SSDI will be
eligible for Medicare, including those now in the two-year
interim. Medicare cards will be mailed later in July.
"Beneficiaries whose date of eligibility for Medicare is
Aug. 1, 2001, or later under the 24-month rule will automatically
be eligible for Medicare effective July 1, 2001. It should
be seamless," says a spokesperson for the Health Care Financing
Administration (HCFA), which administers Medicare. "When
you are disabled with ALS, you will become eligible for Medicare."
She adds, "The Social Security Administration will notify
each beneficiary of their date of eligibility for Medicare,
and the Health Care Financing Administration will issue a
Medicare card and the handbook 'Medicare and You 2001.'"
People who apply for SSDI still have a wait of about five
or six months for eligibility.
For further information call the Social Security Administration
at (800) 772-1213 or visit the Web site, www.medicare.gov. |
