NABTC Urges Action to End Medicare Waiting Period; Coalition Fighting for Reform Includes 90 Leading Organizations

April 22, 2009

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition joins 90 other leading health care organizations in seeking the elimination of the Medicare Waiting Period for those receiving Social Security Disability benefits. Under the current Medicare rules, individuals must wait two years after they begin to receive Social Security Disability payments before they may receive health care through Medicare. This policy has been in effect since Medicare was expanded in 1972 to provide benefits to the disabled, and year in and year out the policy denies disabled individuals who desperately need health care the ability to receive that care through Medicare for two long years. Tragically, some disabled Americans die while they are waiting for Medicare benefits.

The NABTC has been a strong advocate for elimination of the waiting period, endorsing legislation to accomplish this goal in the 109th and 110th Congresses. The Coalition once again joins this fight by endorsing the Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2009 (S. 700/ H.R. 1708) in the 111th Congress.

The problems associated with the Medicare waiting period are well-known to the brain tumor community, as many individuals with brain tumors who are receiving disability payments may have no access to health insurance and no means to pay for care themselves. Individuals may face the difficult decision of delaying care, a decision that is risky and compromises their care.

The Commonwealth Fund has done pioneering work to bring the problems associated with the Medicare waiting period to the attention of the public and policymakers. The reports of the Commonwealth Fund on this topic can be found on the organization’s website at www.commonwealthfund.org. The Medicare Rights Center has also been a leader on this topic by organizing and leading the health care advocacy community in the fight to eliminate the waiting period.

If Congress considers health reform legislation, an important provision should be one to eliminate the Medicare waiting period. If more comprehensive health reform legislation stalls in 2009, action on the Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act is critical as an incremental reform to help thousands on Social Security Disability obtain access to health care.

The NABTC position paper on the Medicare waiting period, urging cosponsorship of S. 700/H.R. 1708, is attached. nabtc-end-the-medicare-waiting-period-2009

Posted in Action Items, Advocacy Positions, Brain Tumor Action Week