Will Medicare pay for kidney transplant?

by Guest » Mon Aug 19, 2013 06:44 am
Guest

I'm just 36 and require an urgent kidney replacement. Would my Medicare pay for it? Please answer asap. Thank you in advance!

Total Comments: 3

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 01:12 am Post Subject:

Are you already on Medicare? If you have been diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), you may apply for coverage if you meet the requirements for "currently insured" status. If you have not been diagnosed with ESRD, then you cannot apply for Medicare coverage.

Medicare does cover most or all of the cost of a kidney transplant for the recipient, but not the donor unless also a Medicare beneficiary.

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 05:16 am Post Subject:

I'm afraid I don't have that privilege (Medicare beneficiary). Could a Medigap policy be of any help?

Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 04:51 pm Post Subject:

Unless you are on Medicare A & B --

I'm afraid I don't have that privilege (Medicare beneficiary)

-- then you cannot buy a Medicare Supplement ("Medigap") policy.

Have you been diagnosed with ESRD? If yes, you can apply for Medicare. If no, your only alternative, if you don't have health insurance, would be Medicaid. You'll have to apply, wait in line to be qualified, and then will be placed on a transplant list.

And then you'll have to wait a bit longer -- like all the others on assorted transplant lists around the country.

You can also apply for a health insurance plan on Oct 1, 2013, when open enrollment under Obamacare officially begins. Your coverage will begin on January 1, 2014, you'll have to see a physician, be placed on a transplant list, and you'll still have to wait for your turn on the transplant list to come up.

That's the best we have to offer in America. Of course, before Obamacare, it was still better than at least 95% of the rest of the world. On January 1, 2014, we might drop a bit on the list.

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