United States Benefit

Medicare

Federal health insurance program for people 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease.

At a Glance

  • Must be 65+, received SSDI for 24 months, have ALS,or have End-Stage Renal Disease.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent residentfor at least 5 continuous years.
  • For premium-free Part A, you or your spouse must haveworked and paid Medicare taxes for at least ...

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility Basis

Required

Must be 65+, received SSDI for 24 months, have ALS,or have End-Stage Renal Disease.

medicare_eligibility_basis in [age_65_plus, ssdi_recipient_24_months, als, esrd]

Exempt if any:

  • OR age 65
  • OR ssdi_months_received 24
  • OR has_als = true
  • OR has_esrd = true

Citizenship/Residency

Required

Must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent residentfor at least 5 continuous years.

citizenship_status in [us_citizen, lawful_permanent_resident_5_years]

Work History (Premium-Free Part A)

Required

For premium-free Part A, you or your spouse must haveworked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.

medicare_work_credits 40

Ruleset effective: 2024-01-01

View as JSON
{"service_id":"medicare","effective_date":"2024-01-01","rules":[{"id":"age-or-disability","key":"medicare_eligibility_basis","operator":"in","values":["age_65_plus","ssdi_recipient_24_months","als","esrd"],"requirement":"required","label":"Eligibility Basis","description":"Must be 65+, received SSDI for 24 months, have ALS,\nor have End-Stage Renal Disease.\n","any_of":[{"id":"age-65","key":"age","operator":"greater_than_or_equal","value":65,"description":"Age 65 or older"},{"id":"ssdi-24-months","key":"ssdi_months_received","operator":"greater_than_or_equal","value":24,"description":"Received SSDI for 24+ months"},{"id":"has-als","key":"has_als","operator":"equals","value":true,"description":"Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)"},{"id":"has-esrd","key":"has_esrd","operator":"equals","value":true,"description":"Has End-Stage Renal Disease"}]},{"id":"citizenship","key":"citizenship_status","operator":"in","values":["us_citizen","lawful_permanent_resident_5_years"],"requirement":"required","label":"Citizenship/Residency","description":"Must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident\nfor at least 5 continuous years.\n"},{"id":"work-history","key":"medicare_work_credits","operator":"greater_than_or_equal","value":40,"requirement":"required","label":"Work History (Premium-Free Part A)","description":"For premium-free Part A, you or your spouse must have\nworked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.\n","source_url":"https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/medicare-basics/who-can-get-medicare"}]}

Quick Info

Agency
CMS
Category
Healthcare
Last Verified
2026-01-13

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