That was a tragic story about Chris Richmeier (BDN May 1) and his battle for Medicare. The story relates to his having to wait two years after he got on SSI disability. There is more to the story than is released by the insert on Medicare Disability Waiting Period.

It should have said you apply for disability and they give you an application to fill out and then turn you down. You file another application and they also deny it. The third step is to get a hearing before the judge. Before you can do that, it is mandatory to hire an attorney to represent you. He gets an automatic $2,500 fee from your disability settlement when it is awarded.

The average overall time for this procedure is 12 months to much longer. The SSI automatically deducts the first five months from your settlement. During this time people are supposed to survive with no money coming in and no money to pay for insurance.

After two years you can get Medicare. They will deduct it from your disability check (but you still have to pay income tax on it plus your disability money). Medicare actually pays very little. You are responsible for the deductible and there are a lot of medical things they will not cover.

Bottom line is, you still need insurance or the bills will pile up.

Carl N. Ripley

Stetson