Getting Medicare with
Social Security Disability
in Oregon

Medicare & Social Security Disability: How It Works

Medicare, in particular, comes with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. These are the benefits you receive when you’ve put in years of work and paid taxes but must stop working due to health problems.

(If you’re instead getting Supplemental Security Income-SSI-you’ll be eligible for a different government health insurance plan, Medicaid. See more about that in the next section.)

When you’re approved for SSDI, you’ll face a two-year waiting period before your Medicare begins.

That’s a long time to go without health insurance, especially when you’re dealing with life-changing medical impairments.

But there’s a good chance that once you get the news you’ve won disability benefits, you won’t actually have to wait two more years for Medicare.

That’s because you’ve probably already waited months or longer for Social Security to make a decision on your disability case. Once they finally decide, they recognize that the date you truly first had a qualifying disability passed a long time ago.

They’ll subtract time that’s already passed from the 24-month Medicare wait, putting you closer to having your health care covered.

In the meantime, you may need to see if you can get extended health care coverage from your old job, an individual policy for yourself, access to Medicaid coverage for the short term, or access to low-cost health clinics.

Once your Medicare does kick in, your next step will be choosing among Medicare Advantage plans.

If you’ve ever talked to any retirees about it, you know Medicare can really put your mind at ease when it comes to your health care.

But if you don’t qualify for retirement, you’ve got to get disability benefits first. Get a free case review, and start on your path to Medicare, with the Social Security Disability attorneys at Wells, Manning, Eitenmiller & Taylor.

What About SSI & Medicaid?

Supplemental Security Income isn’t based on your past work record. To qualify for SSI disability benefits, you must show limited economic means. You may have little past work to show in the first place.

Qualifying for Medicaid—the other government health insurance program—is also based on having little income and other financial resources, just like SSI.

That means when you qualify for SSI, you also automatically qualify for Medicaid.

Medicare, remember, is typically for retirees (or disability recipients) who worked and paid enough into the system to qualify. Medicaid is for people with low incomes. In Oregon, Medicaid is called the Oregon Health Plan, or OHP.

The good news is that when you win SSI, you don’t have a two-year waiting period to get Medicaid, like you do with SSDI and Medicare. With SSI you become eligible for Medicaid immediately.

And sometimes, because your income may have dropped to almost nothing when you had to stop working because of health problems, you can get Medicaid to cover your medical treatment while you wait on SSDI and Medicare.

Getting it all in place—disability income and health care coverage—helps you live with more peace when health impairments have altered your life.

For Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security Disability, the lawyers at Wells, Manning, Eitenmiller & Taylor bring decades of experience to your aid.

We also listen, care, and look out for you in a difficult time. Let’s get in touch.