Medicare in 2023:

You should receive your card approximately 3 months before your Medicare Part B effective date begins. If you believe you did not receive the card or may have lost it, please contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to order a new one.

Some people waiting on their Medicare effective date will qualify for Medicaid. In the state of Washington, individuals with an income of $914 or less will automatically qualify. If your income is over that amount, you may still qualify by meeting your Spend Down. For more information on how a Spend Down works, click here.

For those that don’t qualify for Medicaid, you may be eligible for a plan through the Affordable Care Act with premium tax credits and reduced cost-sharing. To see what coverage you qualify for, call the Health Benefit Exchange at 855-923-4633 or click here to visit their website.

That depends on your Onset Date of Disability. Typically Medicare begins 29 months after your Onset Date. This includes the 5 month waiting period between your Onset Date and the start of your SSDI payments and then another 24 months of receiving those payments before your Medicare begins. (For those with ALS or ESRD, your Medicare benefits will begin as soon as your SSDI payments begin)

Example

If you were determined to be disabled as of January 15, 2022, the 5 month waiting period would put your first SSDI payment on July 1, 2022. Then 24 months later, on July 1, 2024, your Medicare coverage would become effective. (If your Onset Date was determined to be on the 1st day of the month, that month can be counted in your 5 month waiting period)