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| CPF Joins Medicare Rights Center in Collaborative Effort to Overturn the Medicare 24-Month Wait Period for People with Disabilities |
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As part of its ongoing effort to advocate for pulmonary fibrosis community nationwide, the CPF recently joined the “Coalition to End the Two-Year Waiting Period” sponsored by the Medicare Rights Center (www.medicarerightscenter.org), a national nonprofit group founded in 1989 to help more than 43 million older adults and people with disabilities get good, affordable health care.
The CPF has long advocated for the passage of the “Ending the Medicare Wait Period Disability Act”, introduced in Congress by Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) and Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) originally in 2006. The Act is expected to be reintroduced in the 2009 Congress. Specifically, the Act would phase out the 24-month waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for Medicare benefits and eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions. Given that the median survival rate for pulmonary fibrosis patients is just 3 years, and the current administrative process to receive Medicare coverage upon becoming disabled is approximately 30-36 months, it is critical that those with PF are immediately exempt into Medicare coverage so they can access the care they need to survive.
To learn more about the Medicare Wait Period Act, or to learn about the CPF’s national advocacy campaign, please visit www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_advocacy.
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