We live in a different state than our son's mother. His mother seems to be having marital problems so it's looking like he may be coming here to live. How do I find out about his health insurance? His mother is extremely uncooperative and each time he has come here for a visit, we have just been lucky that he has not had any health issues during his stay. We know he gets SSI but unsure about the whole world of medicare, Medicaid, etc. Don't know the difference. Do we just add him to our… read more
I assume you mean SSDI? SSDI usually comes with Medicaid...SSI may come with medicare, will cover different things. But there will be a lot of paperwork and maybe even evaluations because the programs do not just automatically switch from state-to-state. You need to find your local disability resource center and sit down and discuss what you need to know, not only about health insurance coverage (Medicaid is what you want...and you may want to add him to your insurance if you can and want an expanded option for treatment), also Medicaid waivers (the names vary by state but their are waiver that give different levels of support for those with Intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, ect). Also I don't know what a "7" means either, but if it means he has more daily needs, then you really need to learn about your local activity and/or training centers. GOOD LUCK
@A MyAutismTeam Member and @EvelynRepass. Thank you for answering me. This is a tough time for us, but compared to the things I read on this site, we are on a cake walk. You guys rock! If you ever need anything from me, never hesitate.
Leslie, I'm sorry to use that acrynom. I would have spelled it out if I knew the meaning. It is an national organization with chapters in many cities that helps people with disabilities. They can help with parent to parent connections, advocacy issues and legal issues. Because you asked, I looked it up. Sadly, the orgin of the acronym is Association of Retarded Citizens. This is why you would really have to dig to find the answer to that question. These days certain words aren't politically correct.
in my experience if someone is on ssi they will qualify for medicaid. I would call your local ssi office and go from there.
Will someone at the SSI office or a local "The ARC" office help you?