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[Todd]

I'm confused though, I have to figure out what this means for my insurance and everything else. I called welfare and they just said well idk we don't have any information yet. I have to call next week and see.

[evilavatar]

SSI is social security disability insurance.  With being approved you should be able to get state help with insurance as long as you do not go over the states resource cap.  If you do or you have so much in extra earned income you will end up with a spend down.  This is basically like a deducible that you have to meet every month in order to get the medical card only they make  way more complicated. If you have specific questions I deal with this much of my day and will try to help as best I can.. 

[liza]

Evilavatar knows everything!  I was flat out denied on my first attempt at collecting and I dropped it because the docs told me I could try another surgery.  That was about 8 yrs ago.  I filed again in 2010, after being unemployed for 6 month because of the waiting period.  I got a lawyer this time.  After 2 long years I finally went to a hearing and got approved, but first I had to write hardship letters, etc. to get my hearing scheduled. Sooooo, I was on MNcare, Minnesota subsidised insurance for those with income.  Good stuff.  When the 2 years after approval hit (my backpay went back to 2010, ass did "date of disability") I became eligible for Medicare.  When you become eligible for Medicare, all other insurance is dropped.  Your Human Services departments will only know about their own programs, and cannot help you with SSI or Medicare questions.  You have to go to the source, SSA or Medicare, or Evilavatar!  My insurance became way more expensive on Medicare, as did my perscriptions.  Especially Cymbalta.  $575.00 for a 30 day supply!  I purchased a supplemental insurance through Medica as well to cover prescriptions and that 20% that Medicare will not cover.  The supplemental plans will be individualized to your area providers.  Very complicated.  One does not collect disabilty unless one has problems, so, a supplemental plans is usually required. Minor children of the disabled person will collect survivor benefits as well, so ask about that if you have kids.  They contacted me.  I had no idea.

[evilavatar]

Anyone who gets medicare should go to the ssa website and look up extra help with medicare part d as well.  There is federal assistance for people who get disability that will help with paying the monthly premium for your medicare part D and that negotiates a much lower copay cost if you quality.  For an individual the cap is just under 13,000 in resources (so basically you need to make $1000 or less a month from disability). If you can quality it's the best you can ask for in terms of help.  most state medicaid plans will also help with the cost of the medicare part a and b premium if you are someone who is dual eligible.  This can have a lot of strings though so it is something you have to look into depending on the state you live in.   The last bit of advice I can give is keep up on the yearly medicare part d re-enrollment periods and check on the medicare website to make sure that your medications are covered.  Formularies can change at the whim of the provider during the re-enrollment period and sometimes it is more affordable to swap plans.  It's kind of a pain but ti will save you in frustration and not being able to afford medications you need later.

[Dr Sketch]

Wish I had seen this earlier, as this is my job!

After you're on SSDI for two years, you can get Medicare. Until then, most states have a program that you can get onto, and if your income is low enough you may qualify for Medicaid. Once you're on Medicare, depending again on your state, you may be able to get a supplement and drug plan, or an Advantage plan, to significantly reduce or even remove the co-pays.

[evilavatar]

I actually do the same thing Doc.