1 Don't respond to unwanted calls, the FTC says --even if the call says you should press a number to opt-out of future messages. 2  All that will do is verify to the spammer or scammer that your number is real. 3  Similarly, don't respond to unwanted text messages--or click on any links.
(This maximum gets you to 12 months before your application date, plus five months for the waiting period, so your earliest your effective onset date can be is 17 months before the application date.) In this case, the earliest that you can become eligible for Medicare is one year after you apply for Social Security disability.
But for disability applicants who apply for benefits only when they become disabled, and not before, the date that their Medicare coverage will start is more likely to be two years and five months after they apply for disability.