The Oregonian reports:

“Sue Sherman of Southwest Portland lived a peaceful, healthy life until she was dealt an ugly card last year: a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

“From the whirl of appointments, tests and drugs arose an enduring irony of any serious illness: too many moments surrendered just to the act of waiting, for doctors, for results, for help.

“Sherman, 57, believed she had bought some time when she qualified for Social Security disability income. But that only brought on the worst wait of all.

“How do people survive this?” she said. “The ripple effect of this is tsunami-huge.”

“She joined nearly 2 million disabled Americans — at least 15,000 in Oregon — who fall into a twilight with the first monthly Social Security disability payment, for they then must wait two years to become eligible for Medicare.”
See story here:

The 24-month wait for Medicare is one of the most puzzling parts of disability benefits. Why should the folks who paid in to Social Security for a lifetime of work be the ones who wait? People on SSI get Medicaid immediately – and it should be like that for everyone. Let’s hope Obama’s heath care reform addresses this point. Read this story from the Dallas Morning News to see the impact of waiting:

…”Under current law, however, those with disabilities aren’t eligible for Medicare until two years after they begin receiving Social Security disability insurance checks. Johnson is one of 1.8 million disabled Americans in that two-year waiting period.

“No longer able to work, she became eligible for Social Security disability benefits in February 2008, which means she has seven months left until she goes on Medicare.

“Because she can’t afford private insurance, she prays that her condition doesn’t worsen before then.

“It’s not my fault that I’m disabled,” Johnson said. “I paid my Social Security and Medicare taxes during my entire working life. Why now, when I most need the care, must I wait so long? It doesn’t seem fair.” See complete article here:

Today’s Huffington Post has a great article on the differences between Medicare and Medicaid – this is often a point of confusion for people applying for Social Security disability. People granted Social Security benefits are eligible for federal Medicare after the first 24 months of checks. Medicaid is a state program, sometimes called something different (e.g MediCal in California, Oregon Health Plan in Oregon) and is a need-based program. It comes with SSI benefits and also for other qualifiying events – many folks with HIV get it, for example. Read On here: