ABA Family Legal Guide

Health-Care Law

Health-Care Options

Medicare and Medicaid

What is Medicare?

Medicare is an insurance program. Medical bills are paid from trust funds, which those covered have paid into. It primarily serves people over sixty-five, whatever their income. It also serves younger disabled people and dialysis patients. Patients pay part of the costs through deductibles for hospital and other costs. Small monthly premiums are required for nonhospital coverage. Medicare is a federal program. It is basically the same everywhere in the United States and is run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the federal government.

You can find detailed information on Medicare in chapter 16, "The Rights of Older Americans."