How to Check Medicare Eligibility Online

Medicare is the national health care program designed to give the elderly and disabled access to quality care at a low price. Eligibility is based strictly on age and disability status. Medicare's official website offers an online eligibility tool that can be used to gauge whether or not you are eligible or to get information about when you will become eligible.

Instructions

• 1

  Logon to the Medicare website to access the eligibility tool (see References). This can be found under the menu on the left-hand side titled “New to Medicare?” Click the link that reads “Find Out if You’re Eligible.”

• 2

  Read over the information that the following page supplies. This page gives a brief overview of the Medicare program and supplies contact information in case you have trouble using the tool.

• 3

  Begin using the tool by entering your date of birth and marital status. Continue to the next page and answer the prompted questions as accurately as you can. It will ask you questions about your income, current insurance status, citizenship status, retiree status and disability status.

• 4

  Read over and analyze the results. If you are qualified for Medicare, it will explain exactly how and when you are eligible and any actions you need to take to access your benefits. This information is separated into three sections: General Enrollment, Part A Specific and Part B Specific. General Enrollment will give you essential enrollment information that you need to know, such as how to enroll if you are outside of the country, the dates you are eligible to enroll (called enrollment periods) and a quick summary of the Medicare benefits available to you. Part A and Part B Specific explain whether you are qualified for Part A and Part B and at what cost. It also specifies any regulations or stipulations that must be followed for enrollment purposes, such as enrollment periods or whether you may be at risk for a premium penalty if you delay enrollment. If you are not eligible immediately, the tool will tell you your prospective date of eligibility. For example, if your birth date is May 18, 1957 and you do not have a qualified disability, the tool will tell you that you are qualified for Medicare beginning May 1, 2022.