A disabled qualified RR beneficiary (QRRB) is an individual whose D-HI coverage is
under the jurisdiction of the RRB, but whose Medicare records are maintained by CMS.
Many persons under age 65 to whom a RRB annuity is or could be paid, based on the
person's permanent and total disability, may be entitled to D-HI beginning with the
25th month for which such annuity is or could be paid.
EXCEPTION: Section 115 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection
Act of 2000, waives the 24-month waiting period for annuitants whose primary or secondary
diagnosis is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The Diagnosis code (either primary
(DIG) or secondary (SDIG)) will be 3350.
These individuals are entitled to D-HI beginning 7/01 or the first month of disability
benefit entitlement, whichever is later. If a beneficiary is diagnosed with ALS after
the initial disability onset date and is within the 24-month Medicare waiting period,
the individual is entitled to Medicare effective with the later of the ALS onset month
or 7/01/01.
There are other individuals who, though entitled to an RRB annuity based on disability,
will not qualify for HI. The reason is that the law provides that an individual must
meet all the requirements of the SS Act which is, in certain respects, more stringent
than the RR Act.