Why is the Sheriff on Medicare?

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Why is the Sheriff on Medicare?
David Allen
2010-03-03 09:24:19

After a shocking announcement to run for reelection Friday, Sheriff Raymond Hamrick is back in the public spotlight.

He’s battled critics and kidney failure.

And despite Hamrick’s $92,000 salary, he credits a government program with helping him pay for health care costs.

Expensive treatments could have broken the bank had Medicare and county benefits not been available, Hamrick, 54, said. And since he was afforded the opportunity for assistance, he took it.

“Any patient that has to go on dialysis is eligible for Medicare,” Hamrick said. “The government did that years ago to help cover costs which was astronomical for dialysis patients and (kidney) transplants.”

Hamrick was provided Medicare through the government program, but it wasn’t free. There’s a premium to pay, but Hamrick said he didn’t have to front the entire bill.

It’s roughly $2,000-$4,000 per treatment, Hamrick said, with three four-hour treatments a week.

“If a person has health insurance coverage through their work, it pays a certain percentage then Medicare will pay,” said Hamrick. “We still have out of pocket expenses where you have a co-pay, and it only lasts for a certain period of time.”

And Medicare will soon wear off, he added.

“It’s not a lifetime thing.”

A motorcycle wreck several years ago sped along the kidney disease process, Hamrick said.

In 2005 Hamrick’s wife quit her job to provide full-time care.

“She continued to care for me when I had to start dialysis,” said Hamrick.

Both Hamrick and his wife trained for more than a month to learn about home hemodialysis (HHD) and how to operate the machine it requires.

“Six weeks to operate machine before we were allowed to do it at home,” he said.

 

ABOUT MEDICARE

If you’re eligible for Medicare only because of permanent kidney failure, Medicare coverage will end 12 months after dialysis treatments end or 36 months after a kidney transplant, according to http://www.medicare.gov.

Medicare eligibility extends no matter how old you are if your kidneys no longer work, and you need regular dialysis or a kidney transplant, and you have met the following conditions:

-Worked long enough to earn a minimum amount of credits toward retirement under Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, or as a government employee.

-Already getting or are eligible for Social Security, or Railroad Retirement benefits.

-Are the spouse or dependent child of a person who meets either of the requirements listed above.

http://www.shelbystar.com/news/sheriff-45073-spotlight-raymond.html