What Your Social Security Lawyer will Tell You about Medicare

A: If you talk to a social security lawyer, he or she will talk about Medicare for retired persons as fairly simple. Those that are 65 or older will normally be eligible for Medicare coverage if theyve worked for ten years or more in a Medicare covered position. Even if you are under 65, it is possible to be eligible for Medicare coverage if you suffer from a disability. But for these applicants, it may be a good idea to speak to a social security lawyer or advocate about several complications involved with receiving coverage for a disability.

If you dont talk to a social security lawyer or advocate when your disability first presents itself, you may not know that you will have to wait 24 months for Medicare coverage. This is a two year waiting period that starts when your disability begins. In order to receive Medicare coverage for your disability, you are also required to be eligible for social security disability. When you combine the waiting period for Social Security Disability with the waiting period for Medicare, it can be a very long time before you see coverage. Its generally a good idea to speak with a social security lawyer at the beginning of the process to gauge how long your wait may be.

Q: According to the Social Security Administration, I am one credit short of the number I need to be eligible for benefits. What should I do?

A: Social Security Disability eligibility is a complex system (which is why its a good idea to work with a social security lawyer). For you to be eligible to be "insured" for SS Disability, you will generally (though not always) need to have earned 20 credits during the last ten years of work. This 10 year rolling period should end when the SSA deems your disability to have started.

Unfortunately, due to the combination of rules requiring a certain number of credits for people of a certain age, and a certain number of those credits earned in the last 10 years, not meeting the credit requirements is easy. Any social security lawyer or advocate can tell you to expect this to happen if you havent worked enough. Unfortuantely, though, it can also happen when youve waited too long to apply for SSD, or when a judge has decided to change your disabilitys official onset date. In this case, you should speak to a social security lawyer to better understand you options for appeals, etc.

Q: Can I work while I have a claim pending?

A: Your social security lawyer will describe disability that is eligible for benefits as any that keeps you from earning a substantial income. This doesnt necessarily mean, though, that you cannot work at all. If the salary you earn with your work falls below a certain limit (which is set annually but the SSA), you may still be approved for benefits. You may want to speak with a social security lawyer to learn more.