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Medicare Registration Requirements

Medicare is the national health care program available to millions of elderly and disabled individuals in the United States. There are no income or asset limits to qualify for the comprehensive insurance program that provides hospital, medical and drug coverage. There are, however, a few requirements. You must meet one of the first four criteria listed and the final two to be considered eligible for Medicare.

  1. 65 or Older

    • Medicare was originally designed to provide care for the elderly, and even though the retirement age for most is now higher, you still only need to be 65 to sign up for Medicare. If you are 65 and older and receive Social Security Insurance, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare.

    Disabled

    • To be considered eligibly disabled, you must be receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Railroad Disability annuity checks. Medicare eligibility begins the 24th month after the recipient begins to receive the disability benefit. Those with disabilities are automatically enrolled.

    End-Stage Renal Disease

    • Those who have either begun dialysis or have been hospitalized in order to receive a kidney transplant are eligible for Medicare. If you receive dialysis, your Medicare will begin four months after you start. Kidney transplant recipients can expect their Medicare to be effective immediately. Those receiving dialysis who do not want to wait the four months can opt into a self-dialysis training program. As soon as the beneficiary begins this program, Medicare will give coverage retroactively, going back to the beginning of dialysis treatment. If the beneficiary quits the program, Medicare coverage ends until four months of dialysis treatment has been reached.

    Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

    • ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Those with ALS are automatically enrolled in Medicare during their first month of receiving SSDI benefits.

    Enrollment Period

    • There are limited times when you can sign up for Medicare, including when you first become eligible (your initial enrollment period), the annual coordinated election period (Nov. 15 to Dec.31 each year), and the open enrollment period (Jan. 1 to March 31 annually).

    U.S. Citizens

    • Iin order to receive premium-free Part A, you must have worked in the United States for at least 10 years in a job that paid into Medicare taxes.

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