Medicare

Medicare is a health insurance program for people 65 years of age or older, some people with disabilities under age 65, and people with end-stage renal disease. Medicare has two parts:

Part A (Hospital Insurance): Most people do not have to pay for Part A
Part B (Medical Insurance): Most people pay monthly for Part B

Medicare also has a Prescription Drug Program (Medicare Part D). For more information, visit the following sites:

Who is Eligible?

Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if:

you or your spouse worked for at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment, and you are 65 years old and a citizen or permanent residents of the United States
you are under age 65 and have received Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for two years or longer
you have End-Stage Renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant).

How Much Does It Cost?

Premiums

Part A:

Most people do not pay a monthly Part A premium because they or a spouse has 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment.
For individuals having 30-39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment, the Part A premium is $216 per month.
For individuals who are not otherwise eligible for premium-free hospital insurance and have less than 30 quarters of Medicare-covered employment, the premium is $393 per month.

Part B:
$88.50 per month

Deductibles

Part A:
$952 per benefit period

Part B:
$124 per year. (Note: you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for services after you meet the $124 deductible.)

How Do I Apply?

For more information about Medicare, call the Aging and Adult Services Information and Assistance Line at 1-800-510-2020 or visit the federal Medicare web site.