Guest guest Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Hello Everyone: We have a patient who is not on dialysis and therefore is not on Medicare. He would like to be listed for kideny transplant thinking that he will be entitled to Medicare the month of transplant. However, he has never worked "on the books" and says he doesn't have enough work credits. He is 55 years old and has never been married. Can he still purchase Part A coverage at the time of transplant, even though he really has no work credit history? Note: he is Medicaid only, he receives SSI but not SSDI because of lack of work credits. He states he can't get Medicare for perm disability now because of the work credit situation, so how will he get it when he is transplanted? Any insight anyone has with this situation would be appreciated! Joanie Sage Transplant Financial Coordinator GCMC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Hi Joanie, SSDI is linked to recent work history so people without 20 out of the last 40 quarters at the time of application are not eligible for the cash benefit and therefore will never have Disability Medicare. But it often happens that the same person earned their Aged/Renal Medicare “lifetime credits” (my phrase) earlier in life when they were working (on the books). So although it doesn’t sound promising for this patient if he truly only worked under the table, for others with a remote work history it’s very much worth having them call SSA to ask “do I have sufficient credits for the Renal Medicare program when I start treatment for ESRD.” At any rate, here in Oregon we would not expect a 55 year old on SSI and Medicaid to lose benefits even after a transplant, so if he were here and not eligible for premium free A, I would not counsel him to buy in. on Transplant Financial Coordinator Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital Legacy Transplant Services 1040 NW 22nd Ave Ste 480 Portland OR 97210 direct main office toll-free fax lmorriso@... From: TxFinancialCoordinators [mailto:TxFinancialCoordinators ] On Behalf Of Joanie SageSent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 7:18 AMTo: TxFinancialCoordinators Subject: Medicare and Work Credits Hello Everyone: We have a patient who is not on dialysis and therefore is not on Medicare. He would like to be listed for kideny transplant thinking that he will be entitled to Medicare the month of transplant. However, he has never worked " on the books " and says he doesn't have enough work credits. He is 55 years old and has never been married. Can he still purchase Part A coverage at the time of transplant, even though he really has no work credit history? Note: he is Medicaid only, he receives SSI but not SSDI because of lack of work credits. He states he can't get Medicare for perm disability now because of the work credit situation, so how will he get it when he is transplanted? Any insight anyone has with this situation would be appreciated! Joanie SageTransplant Financial CoordinatorGCMC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thank you, you explained that very nicely! To: TxFinancialCoordinators Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 3:06 PMSubject: RE: Medicare and Work Credits Hi Joanie, SSDI is linked to recent work history so people without 20 out of the last 40 quarters at the time of application are not eligible for the cash benefit and therefore will never have Disability Medicare. But it often happens that the same person earned their Aged/Renal Medicare “lifetime credits†(my phrase) earlier in life when they were working (on the books). So although it doesn’t sound promising for this patient if he truly only worked under the table, for others with a remote work history it’s very much worth having them call SSA to ask “do I have sufficient credits for the Renal Medicare program when I start treatment for ESRD.†At any rate, here in Oregon we would not expect a 55 year old on SSI and Medicaid to lose benefits even after a transplant, so if he were here and not eligible for premium free A, I would not counsel him to buy in. on Transplant Financial Coordinator Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital Legacy Transplant Services 1040 NW 22nd Ave Ste 480 Portland OR 97210 direct main office toll-free fax lmorriso@... From: TxFinancialCoordinators [mailto:TxFinancialCoordinators ] On Behalf Of Joanie SageSent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 7:18 AMTo: TxFinancialCoordinators Subject: Medicare and Work Credits Hello Everyone: We have a patient who is not on dialysis and therefore is not on Medicare. He would like to be listed for kideny transplant thinking that he will be entitled to Medicare the month of transplant. However, he has never worked "on the books" and says he doesn't have enough work credits. He is 55 years old and has never been married. Can he still purchase Part A coverage at the time of transplant, even though he really has no work credit history? Note: he is Medicaid only, he receives SSI but not SSDI because of lack of work credits. He states he can't get Medicare for perm disability now because of the work credit situation, so how will he get it when he is transplanted? Any insight anyone has with this situation would be appreciated! Joanie Sage Transplant Financial Coordinator GCMC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.