Medicare assistance helps millions of people in the United States. Thanks to this government service, many are able to receive medical care. Such medical care would not be possible for them without Medicare, which makes this possible. Undoubtedly, this service has become totally indispensable for the American society.
However, there are many citizens who think that they are entitled to receive Medicare when they are not. Others think it is mandatory to have a disability. There are also Americans who believe that one must first apply for Social Security in order to obtain this free medical assistance. Well, none of this is true, since the basic Medicare requirements are different.
It is very important to know at all times what are the conditions that we must meet if we want to have Medicare as a medical service. Millions of Americans who are entitled to receive this service do not apply for it because they do not know they can do so. And this is a pity, since they would benefit greatly from it. Can you apply for Medicare?
What are the basic requirements to apply for Medicare?
To get Medicare there are two basic requirements. The first of these requirements is to be 65 years of age or older. Therefore, any citizen who is over 65 years of age can access Medicare services. This does not mean that the citizen has to be collecting a monthly check from Social Security. They are two totally different things and do not depend on each other.
The second group of citizens who can receive this type of medical services is those who have a disability. This group is the same as the group of people over 65 years of age. It is not mandatory to have a Social Security Disability benefit in order for Medicare to provide services. So you can find out if you are entitled to this help or not.
How many parts does this help have?
Medicare has a total of 4 parts. While it is true that all of them are very useful, Americans can only access two of them for free. Even within those two free parts, one part is a payment. Medicare Part A and Part B are free, but Part B has a Premium part for which we must pay in case we want to enjoy its services.
On the other hand, we also have Medicare Advantage, also known as Part C. This part is always a payment and is very useful. Finally, Medicare Part D is for drugs and, like Advantage, it is very useful. Still, we have to make payments for both of them.
In most cases, it is worth paying Medicare premiums, as they will give us a number of benefits that would be more expensive if we paid for them individually.