Am I Eligible for Medicare?
Medicare is available to people 65 and older and people under 65 who meet certain criteria. See if you are eligible below:
If you are 65 or older, you qualify for Medicare if you meet any of the following criteria:
- You or your spouse receives or is eligible to receive Social Security or Railroad Retirement Benefits.
- You or your spouse (living or deceased, including divorced spouses) worked long enough in a government job where Medicare taxes were paid.
- You are the dependent parent of a fully insured deceased child.
If you are younger than 65, you qualify for Medicare if you meet any of the following criteria:
- You have been entitled to Social Security disability benefits for 24 months.
- You receive a disability pension from the Railroad Retirement Board and meet certain conditions. See RRB.gov for details.
- You receive Social Security disability benefits because you have Lou Gehrig’s disease—also referred to as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
- You worked long enough in a government job where Medicare taxes were paid and you have been entitled to Social Security disability benefits for 24 months.
- You are the child or widow(er) age 50 or older, including a divorced widow(er), of someone who has worked long enough in a government job where Medicare taxes were paid and you meet the requirements of the Social Security disability program.
- You have permanent kidney failure and you receive maintenance dialysis or a kidney transplant and meet at least one of the following criteria:
- You are eligible for or receive monthly benefits under Social Security or the Railroad Retirement system.
- You have worked long enough in a Medicare-covered government job.
- You are the child or spouse (including a divorced spouse) of a worker (living or deceased) who has worked long enough under Social Security or in a Medicare-covered government job.