MEDICARE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administers Medicare, the nation's largest health insurance program, which covers nearly 40 million Americans. It is a social insurance program administered by the United States Government, it operates as a single payer healthcare systems.

Medicare is a Health Insurance Program for people age 65 or older, some disabled people under age 65, and people of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure treated with dialysis or a transplant).

Medicare has 2 Part Programs:

1.  Medicare Part A reimburses institutional providers for inpatient, hospice, and some home health services.
2.  Medicare Part B reimburses institutional providers for outpatient services and physicians for inpatient services.

 General Medicare eligibility requires individuals to:

• Have worked at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment.
• Be a minimum age of 65 years old.
• Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.