Congressman Gene Green (TX29) :: Press Release :: Coalition launched to end Medicare waiting period

Washington, DC - More than 75 health advocacy organizations announced a new campaign to support legislation that would end a two-year Medicare waiting period for people with disabilities today.

Rep. Gene Green (D-Houston) hosted representatives of the Medicare Rights Center in the U.S. Capitol Building for the launch of the Coalition to End the Two-Year Wait for Medicare.

“Individuals who are stuck in the 24 month waiting period are already qualified as disabled and it is unbelievable that this vulnerable population is forced to go without health insurance for two years because the cannot afford to pay for COBRA coverage or individual insurance before they qualify for Medicare coverage,” Green said. “I am happy to announce that this new coalition will provide a loud voice for the disabled, and we’ll be doing all we can to make sure Congress can hear it.”

At any one time about 1.5 million people who have a disability that prevents them from working are caught in a two-year waiting period for Medicare. The waiting period comes on top of an initial wait for the Social Security Administration to determine eligibility for disability insurance (SSDI) plus a five-month waiting period to begin receiving SSDI payments.

About a quarter of disabled people waiting for Medicare have no health insurance at all during the two years, and 40 percent have coverage only part of the time. Lack of coverage can result in worsened health and new medical problems that take their toll on both prospective beneficiaries and the taxpayers who must eventually foot the bill.

Green has introduced the Ending the Medicare Waiting Period Act (H.R. 154), which would phase out the two-year waiting period over ten years and, for the interim, create a process by which individuals with life-threatening diseases could be entirely exempt from the wait requirement. Green’s bill and its companion in the Senate (S.2102) will be the principal legislative vehicles for the Coalition’s agenda.

Members of the Coalition to End the Two-Year Wait for Medicare:

Alpha-1 Foundation

Alpha-1 Association

Alzheimer’s Association

American Academy of Neurology Professional Association

American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association

American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network

ACCSES

American Council for the Blind (ACB)

American Foundation for the Blind

American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR)

American Psychological Association

Amputee Coalition of America

Amyloidosis Support Groups

Arthritis Foundation

Association for Frontotemporal Dementias

Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL)

Autism Society of America

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation (BEBRF)

Brain Injury Association of America

Breast Cancer Network of Strength

Center for Medicare Advocacy

CFC International

Children's Tumor Foundation

Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis

Community Health Charities of America

COPD Foundation

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Disability Policy Collaboration

Dystonia Medical Research Foundation

Easter Seals

Ehlers Danlos National Foundation

Epilepsy Foundation

Families USA

HIV Medicine Association

Incontinentia Pigmenti International Foundation

Independence Care System

International Pemphigus and Pemphigold Foundation

Kennedy's Disease Association

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Lupus Foundation of America

MAP Rx

Mental Health America

Medicare Rights Center

Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA)

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)

National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

National Association of People with AIDS

National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare

National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)

National Disability Rights Network

National Health Council

National Kidney Foundation

National Marfan Foundation

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

North American Brain Tumor Coalition (NABTC)

National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF)

NISH

NTM Info & Research

Paralyzed Veterans of America

Shwachman Diamond Syndrome Foundation

Spina Bifida Association

STARS

The AIDS Institute

The Arc of the United States

United Cerebral Palsy

United Spinal Association

Village Care of New York

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