People with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) need dialysis or a kidney transplant. Their Medicare benefits start on their fourth month of dialysis if they receive the treatment at a clinic, hospital, or medical office but could start on their first month of dialysis if they receive their treatments at home.
Alternatively, benefits can start right away when someone is admitted to a hospital for a kidney transplant and that transplant takes place within two months. If it takes longer than two months to get the transplant, Medicare coverage starts two months before the transplant is actually completed.
What makes ESRD coverage different from other types of Medicare coverage is that ESRD coverage has an end date. Benefits stop 12 months after dialysis treatments are discontinued or 36 months after a successful kidney transplant. The problem with the latter is that people need to take life-long immunosuppressive drugs to prevent their body from rejecting the transplant. Losing Medicare coverage could affect their ability to afford these necessary medications.