Medicare, General
Medicare is a federally funded health insurance program that offers healthcare coverage to approximately 45 million beneficiaries. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, currently oversees the Medicare program. Patient eligibility in Medicare is not based on income.
Medicare is a health insurance program for:
- Individuals who are 65 or older
- Some disabled individuals under age 65 who have received Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) payments for 2 years automatically
- Individuals of any age with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) who are eligible if they require kidney dialysis or had a kidney transplant
Medicare offers various benefits to patients through four parts.
