Medicare & Life Insurance

Some common types of insurance are health insurance, life insurance and disability insurance. These types of insurance are not exclusive from each other, and you can buy all of them if you wish. The federal government has different programs that provide people with health insurance and disability insurance. In some cases, it also provides life insurance.

Medicare

• The federal government provides a type of health insurance to senior citizens and people with disabilities called Medicare. The Medicare program is run by the Social Security Administration and funded by Social Security tax. If you are 65 years of age or older, you are eligible to enroll in Medicare. If you (or your spouse) have paid Medicare tax, you are entitled to free hospital insurance coverage, which is Medicare Part A. Otherwise, you might be able to purchase this coverage. If you are younger than 65 years of age, are disabled and have received Social Security disability benefits for two years, you are also entitled to enroll in Medicare. Medicare coverage also includes medical insurance (Part B), additional coverage through private companies (Part C) and prescription drug coverage (Part D).

Life Insurance

• Life insurance is a type of insurance that you purchase to help your family if you should die. Life insurance policies pay an established amount of money to family members (or the policy beneficiary) when the policyholder dies. This money helps family members with the financial burdens that arise with your death, such as burial costs, and also helps to provide for your family while they adjust to the loss of your income. You can purchase different types of life insurance policies, and the premiums you pay vary according to the coverage offered and the amount for which you are insured.

Federal Life Insurance

• The federal government offers a type of life insurance to those people who work and pay Social Security tax. When you work and pay these taxes, you create retirement funds. If you die before reaching retirement age or before getting all your retirement benefits, the Social Security Administration pays these benefits to your eligible family members. This program is called survivor benefits. Eligible family members include your spouse and children. You are generally required to have worked for at least 10 years to earn these benefits for your family. However, the younger you are when you die, the fewer years of work you need to qualify.

Life Insurance and Medicare

• Whether your family qualifies to receive survivors benefits or receives benefits from a private life insurance company, it does not influence their eligibility to receive Medicare benefits. If your family is receiving survivor benefits, family members can still enroll in Medicare when they reach retirement age. They can also receive private life insurance benefits in addition to survivor benefits and Medicare. The amount your family receives in survivor benefits depends on how much you paid into the program in taxes.