Getting Started With Medicare

Medicare is a federal health insurance program administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Enacted in 1965, Medicare now covers over 58 million Americans. Medicare is not Medicaid, which is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage for certain people with limited income and assets.

Who is eligible for Medicare?

• People age 65 or older.
• People under age 65 with certain disabilities.
• People of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant).
• People of all ages with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease)