Medicare
Medicare is a federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older, some disabled persons under 65, and persons with end-stage renal disease.
If you age 65 or older
You enroll in Medicare Part A (hospital) and Part B (medical) health insurance through Medicare:
Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage plans), Part D (prescription coverage) and Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap policies) are sold by insurance companies and may be obtained directly from them or through independent health insurance agents and brokers. You can find and compare policies and plans in Sarasota County by going online to Medicare:
You can call Medicare 24 hours/7 days a week at 1-800-633-4227.The Florida Department of Elder Affairs assists seniors with Medicare, health insurance questions, and prescription assistance options. Call them at (800) 963-5337 or visit them at:
If you are Under 65
Before age 65, you are eligible for Medicare hospital insurance (Part A)
and may enroll in Medicare medical insurance (Part B, requires a monthly
premium) if you:
- Get Social Security disability benefits and have amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's) disease; or
- Have been a Social Security disability beneficiary for 24 months; or
- Have worked long enough in a federal, state, or local government job
and you meet the requirements of the Social Security disability program.
If you receive a disability annuity from the Railroad Retirement Board,
you will be eligible for hospital insurance after a waiting period. (Contact
your railroad retirement office for details.)
Eligibility For Family Members
Under certain conditions, your spouse, divorced spouse, widow or widower,
or a dependent parent may be eligible for hospital insurance when he or she
turns 65, based on your work record.
Also, disabled widows and widowers under age 65, disabled divorced widows
and widowers under 65, and disabled children may be eligible for Medicare,
usually after a 24-month qualifying period. (For disabled widows/widowers,
previous months of eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based
on disability may count toward the qualifying period.)
If You Have Kidney Failure
There are special rules for people with permanent kidney failure. Under
these rules, you are eligible for hospital insurance at any age if you
receive maintenance dialysis or a kidney transplant and:
- You are insured or are getting monthly benefits under Social
Security or the railroad retirement system; or
- You have worked long enough in government to be insured for
Medicare.
In addition, your spouse or child may be eligible, based on your work
record, if she or he receives continuing dialysis for permanent kidney
failure or had a kidney transplant, even if no one else in the family is
getting Medicare.
If You Do Not Qualify Under These Rules
Certain disabled people who lost premium-free hospital insurance due to
work can get Medicare hospital insurance again by paying a premium.
For more information go to Social Security Online at
www.socialsecurity.gov or your
local Social Security Office.