8 Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) reported their health status as fair or poor and almost the same share (58%) reported having one or more limitations in their activities of daily living, compared to 20% and 34% of beneficiaries age 65 or older, respectively. This includes memory loss that interferes with daily activity, difficulty making decisions, trouble concentrating, and loss of interest within the past year. Health status: Nearly two-thirds of all younger Medicare beneficiaries (65%) had a cognitive or mental impairment in 2012, compared to 29% of older beneficiaries (Figure 2). Race/ethnicity and gender: A larger share of beneficiaries under age 65 than older beneficiaries are black (18% and 8%, respectively) and Hispanic (13% and 9%, respectively), and a larger share are male (53% and 44%, respectively). 7įigure 1: Selected Characteristics of Medicare Beneficiaries Under Age 65 Compared to Those Age 65 or Older Nearly one quarter (24%) of younger beneficiaries with disabilities had incomes less than $10,000 per year and two-thirds (67%) had incomes less than $20,000 per year, compared to 13% and 39%, respectively, of older beneficiaries. Income: In 2012, a much larger share of beneficiaries under age 65 with disabilities than older beneficiaries had low annual incomes (Figure 1). Medicare beneficiaries under age 65 with disabilities differ from beneficiaries age 65 or older in several ways, including their demographic, socioeconomic, and health status profiles. 6 What are the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries under age 65 with disabilities compared to beneficiaries age 65 or older? 5 Of those who were receiving SSDI in 2014, 34% qualified due to mental disorders, 28% due to diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, 4% due to injuries, 3% due to cancer, and 30% due to other diseases and conditions. People under age 65 who are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) automatically qualify for Medicare upon diagnosis without a waiting period. Because people are required to wait five months before receiving disability benefits, SSDI recipients must wait a total of 29 months before their Medicare coverage begins. People under age 65 become eligible for Medicare if they have received SSDI payments for 24 months. 4 How do people under age 65 with disabilities qualify for Medicare? 3 When people under age with disabilities on Medicare turn 65, their coverage from Medicare continues. Today, Medicare covers 9.1 million people with disabilities who are under age 65, 2 or 16% of the Medicare population, up from 7% (1.7 million people with disabilities under age 65) in 1973. Medicare also covers certain widows and widowers under age 65 with disabilities, as well as disabled adult children of retired, deceased, or disabled workers. 1 To qualify for SSDI, people must be unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” because of a medically-determined physical or mental impairment expected to last at least 12 months or until death. Medicare was established in 1965 as the health insurance program for Americans age 65 and over since 1973, it has also covered people under age 65 who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
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