Medicare is a federal health insurance program. To qualify, you must:
- Meet citizenship or residency requirements.
- You must also meet one of these criteria:
- be age 65 or older
- be under 65 with a disability
- have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
Contact the Social Security Administration to sign up for Original Medicare. Call toll-free 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The four parts of Medicare:
- Part A (Hospital coverage)
- Part B (Medical coverage)
- Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans)
- Part D (Prescription Drug coverage)
