Long Covid Disability Revives Push to End 24-Month Medicare Wait

Congress needs to make it easier for people who are disabled by long-term Covid-19 conditions to access Medicare benefits, advocates and medical doctors told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday.

Anyone eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is also eligible for Medicare, but those who get approved for SSDI have to wait a mandated 24 months before they can get those health benefits.

That waiting period can be harmful to people suffering from a chronic illness, including the constellation of physical, neurological, and psychological conditions known as long Covid, which lasts for months after an initial Covid-19 infection, one doctor ...