People with early-onset Alzheimer's disease or any of 37 other diseases now are eligible for Medicare benefits without having to wait two years after being diagnosed.
Currently, the Social Security Administration has a "compassionate allowance" for people with any of 50 different diseases, most of which are fatal, that allows the patient to begin receiving medical coverage under Medicare without being 65 or having to comply with the mandatory two-year wait after becoming eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance.
"These patients will no longer be stuck in 'no-man's land' in regards to medical coverage," said Carrie Collins, the client access director for the Alzheimer's Association.
I have no idea where this came from but it is completely wrong. There are only two exceptions to the two year waiting period for Medicare, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The ESRD exception is only for Part A of Medicare. I hope the Alzheimer's Association nationally is not spreading this nonsense. The Commissioner of Social Security has no authority to change that.
Uh, no.
ReplyDeleteESRD covers both parts A and B of Medicare.
Agree with everything else you said, though.