If you are currently receiving disability payments under the Social Security Disability Insurance program, then you may qualify for Medicare coverage. However, for this, you must currently be receiving disability payments for a minimum of 24 months. If you meet this criterion, then you are eligible for enrollment in the Medicare Part A and Part B program.
However, the Medicare coverage that you receive is often insufficient to cover all of your medical bills. In such cases, it is best to have supplementary insurance that can help cover some of the costs of those illnesses or conditions not covered by either Medicare Part A or Part B.
Medigap plans are supplementary health insurance plans that you can buy to cover the health care costs that are not covered under Medicare. The coverage in these plans is fairly similar across insurers. You may, however, find a difference in the monthly payments from insurer to insurer.
Consult with a Social Security disability benefits lawyer for help recovering Medicare benefits when covered under the SSDI program.
Eligibility for Medigap
In order to qualify for a Medigap policy, you must currently be receiving disability payments, and must qualify for both Medicare Part A and Part B. If you currently have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you cannot also carry a Medigap plan. You can leave one for the other, though. Additionally, Medigap only covers one person. A spouse will need to apply for his or her own policy.
What You Need to Know about Medigap
Before you sign on for a Medigap plan, consider the following points.
You Medigap Policy will only cover one person. You can buy a Medigap policy from any private insurer that is licensed to sell Medigap policies in your state.
Once you sign up for a Medigap policy, you must also pay additional monthly insurance premiums. A Medigap policy does not cover every type of condition.
For instance, most policies will not cover the following.
- Eye care
- Dental care
- Prescriptions: some previous Medigap policies have covered prescriptions but if you are purchasing yours after January 2006 then you will have to sign up for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Part D
- Long-term care
- The cost of devices like eyeglasses and hearing aids
For more information about your rights as a disability beneficiary of the Social Security Disability Insurance program, speak to a Social Security disability benefits attorney. Consult with a disability benefits lawyer for help filing a claim at LaVan & Neidenberg® (888) 234-5758.
