Medicare A is automatic at 24 months after you start receiving your SSDI payments, 29 months total and it is free. You pay for Medicare B, about $96 per month now, but can deny it. You must have proof of creditable drug coverage if you pass on Medicare D, equivalent to Medicare D.

There are no age restrictions on SSDI for Medicare.

It can be very confusing, but once you understand things it is fairly easy.

Sheesh...how are we who are cognitive deficient supposed to understand all of this?
My DH is hopind (and dreaming) of retiring in 2 years...I think he has to use his regular insurance until he hits 65, yes?
His company has really good insurance coverage. So I'm hopeful that he won't have to have Medicare until the traditional retirement age...

Thanks for all the info...I'll keep tuned in...

I applied for SSD in '99, finally got approved in '01 with retro payment to back when I applied. So since I got retro I was automatiaccly approved for Medicare because it had been the required months wait. My husbands insurance was always primary and Medicare secondary. I loved it because the Medicare always picked up almost all of any copayment for anything. Now of course I am on just Medicare but many of the insurance compaunies provide the Medicare advantage plans. Yes you have the Medicare D prescrption coverage on those plans but without it I would have no coverage except what prescrption coverage I can get with AAA. Yes, I said AAA. It can save a lot of money! These two months will be tough with paying 100% until I pay $4500. But you just have to prepare for it. Hopefully it won't be difficult to do this. Also I can fall back on my AAA. But I'm not going to do that because I want to get out the gap quickly and get in to the catostrophic part of Medicare D of which most of my meds will be dirt cheap.

Dejibo & Wkikta. Thanks for clearing that up. I took my info from someone I talked to at Social Security, but am slowly learning it is better to find the answers myself. It’s most likely I was so angry to find out that I qualified as Disabled, but did not qualify for Medicare I may not have understood the person at the other end of the phone.

So angry, in fact, I did research the 24-month waiting period (when I probably should have researched the ‘choice’ of Medicare). I could not believe some of things I discovered.

For one thing, while SSDI recipients must wait 24 months for Medicare, SSI recipients qualify immediately for Medicaid. SSI recipients are one of the federal ‘Mandatory Eligibility Groups’ for Medicaid, but SSDI is not.

The "Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2009", sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (S700) and Rep. Gene Green (HR1708) would phase out the 24-month waiting period over a span of ten years, but both bills seem to be in limbo, until something is decided on health care reform.

Even the Act would span 10 years. Why not, just add SSDI as one of the ‘Mandatory Eligibility Groups’ now.

I found a great website and fact sheet about the Act, and wish I had enough posts to include links, but I assure you the quotes below are legit, and I will post links when I finally can.

I added the emphasis to ‘keep costs down’, because it ties in to the following from Social Security’s website. This can be found on a page titled “Full Retirement Age is Increasing”.

So, you would think that with the full retirement age increasing, so would the age for Medicare Eligibility. At least that is what I thought. I was wrong. This from Social Security’s Medicare FAQs.

What am I missing? Could they not afford Medicare for all of us with Disabilities if they raised the Medicare eligibility age to 67 as well? And, the 1972 legislation referenced 'still receiving benefits under a private group plan'. I don't know if it was true then, but it certainly isn't true now. Yet, people still employed past 65 are most likely still insured under a private group plan, but if you look at the Medicare FAQs, they actually encourage them to apply when they turn 65. I just don't get it.

I really have to wonder if our legislators might be in violation of their own ADA Act.

Please forgive the rant. This has been one of my hot buttons.

Its easy to get confused on WHEN you get Medicare after being granted SSDI. Its 2 years from the day you FIRST APPLIED for ssdi. In my case, I applied for SSDI and was denied. I applied again and was approved. This was over the course of 2 years. So when my approval came through, my waiting period for Medicare had also been met. I got it pretty much along with my first check..............which I got within 10 days. Again, if you apply and are denied....you are still going through all waiting periods if you are later approved.

For those approved right away.....they wait for their first check and they have to wait to receive Medicare.

Medicare is always primary and I still have Hubby's insurance (BCBS) so it becomes secondary and pays for most things Medicare does not. I haven't had any issues with doctors so far. Sometimes they will say they take Medicare, but do not accept what it pays.......so I have more of a cost share.
However, with the new healthcare law in place and cuts to Medicare....I can not speculate what will happen in the future.