Whether you qualify for Medicare because of your age or disability, your health benefits are the same. Original Medicare offers both inpatient (Part A) and outpatient (Part B) medical services, as well as a voluntary prescription drug program called Medicare Part D. This federal program provides retirement income, disability benefits and other payments to workers who contributed to the plan while employed and to their dependents. The program also provides financial assistance to people who are legally blind or have vision problems that prevent them from working. What happened in 2016 to change Medicare for the blind? Three blind beneficiaries decided to question the way Medicare information is provided to the blind or visually impaired. The SSA is the organization that administers health insurance services for most participants. Eligible retired railway employees receive health insurance benefits through the Railroad Retirement Board. This dispute has drawn attention to those who are eligible for Medicare and blind, pointing out that they do not have equal access to Medicare information. They explained that there was a lack of equipment for a person who was blind or had vision loss. Original Medicare for People with Blindness includes Part A hospital insurance to cover hospital care and Part B of Medicare to pay for doctors` services. Medicare Advantage often covers services that Original Medical does not cover, including some vision services, and Part D may cover prescribed vision care products. Medicare will also allow physiotherapists and occupational therapists to provide vision rehabilitation services designed to improve function and the ability to perform activities of daily living.

However, these rehabilitation services need to be reformed as the rules and regulations were introduced many years ago and technology has advanced so far since then. Preventing blindness would have a significant financial impact on Medicare spending. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not consider « emotional support animals or pets » to be service animals. For your service animal to be eligible, it must be a dog and help you « perform certain tasks » directly related to your disability. For example, many service animals are guide dogs that help blind owners get from point A to point B. However, Medicare also offers coverage to people under the age of 65 who have a disability. Blindness and/or low vision may entitle you to Social Security benefits if your condition prevents you from working. Let`s look at disability health benefits: RRB benefits work differently and earnings rules are stricter for disabled beneficiaries than for those who retired because of age and service.

If you work for an employer in the railway sector or another railway industry, you will not receive your disability pension. You get it if you work for another employer if your income does not exceed $1,050 after deducting disability-related labour costs. If you want to do your own research, I also refer you to my Resources tab (theblindguide.com/resources-for-the-blind/), which is filled with all sorts of information, from customizing your living space to financial support, vision loss, and more. Since Medicare Part C and Part D enrollment is not automatic, you should be ready for annual enrollment periods. You must be enrolled in the original Parts A and B of Medicare to enroll in Medicare Advantage. Part D of prescription drugs is a standalone plan that is added to your original Medicare, but is often included in Medicare Advantage plans. If you`re new to Medicare as a blind person, you can sign up at these times: Since 2008, any device with a lens has been excluded from Medicare coverage. Except in certain situations, this rule effectively omits glasses and other low-vision optical devices, such as handheld or tripod magnifiers, as well as hand-held telescopes, clip-on telescopes or telescopes. Medicare also doesn`t cover white sticks to help blind people or assistive devices, such as video magnifying systems or special software that magnifies computer text or reads text aloud. Hi V Gordon, I`m going to start as I always do, which is to suggest you contact your local blind eye association or an organization with the same name. A list of the different states can be found here (visionaware.org/directory/).

The needs of each individual are different and these differences are determined by the type and degree of vision loss, as well as habitat, technical abilities and the ability to live independently. Medicaid is a state and federal program that provides medical services to people who meet certain income requirements. Medicare is a public health insurance plan that is available to most people 65 and older and most people with ALS, ESD, or SSDI for at least 25 months. As long as you are medically disabled, you can keep your Medicare coverage. While you`re working, you won`t have to pay your Medicare Part A premium for the first eight and a half years, but beyond that time, you will. However, there are certain income limits and other rules you need to know about your disability benefits. It was good to know that you may qualify for health insurance if you have a health condition like low vision and blindness. My mother`s eye notes are too high.

She can`t see us anymore if she`s not wearing glasses. Since she needs to check her eyesight regularly, we are looking for health insurance that will benefit her for a long time. Thank you for sharing this. The VA provides access and coverage for eye care services for veterans who are eligible for health insurance. To receive VA support, Veterans must meet certain eligibility requirements. Learn more about the program and apply at www.va.gov/healthbenefits/ or call 1-877-222-VETS (8387). Learn more about Medicare and how to apply at ssa.gov/medicare/ or call 1-800-MEDICARE (633-4227). Two years later, the NFB and CMS reached an agreement requiring the CMS to provide health equipment to beneficiaries who are blind or visually impaired in formats such as Braille, large print and audio. CMS is now also required to extend all time restrictions for beneficiaries who have difficulty accessing urgent information. Hi Teri – I`m really sorry for the challenges. I don`t know if you noticed, but it was a guest article. Personally, I am not a Medicare expert, but I refer you to the guest poster, Danielle Kunkle of Boomer Benefits (boomerbenefits.com/).

As it was written a few years ago, I don`t know if Danielle is still here, but the company is still active. You can reach them directly. People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid may be eligible for a type of Medicare Advantage plan called a Dual Special Needs Plan (DSNP). Medicare Advantage plans are private insurance policies that can offer many benefits that Original Medicare cannot, such as: meal delivery, medical transportation outside of emergency, and hearing aid coverage.