Medicare Eligibility

Who is eligible for Medicare:

Both U.S. citizens and qualified legal residents have to be one of the following:

  1. Age 65 or older
  2. Younger than 65 with a qualifying disability (you must be disabled for at least 2 years to be eligible for Medicare if under the age of 65)
  3. Any age with a diagnosis of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
  4. To qualify as a legal resident, you must have lived in the United States for at least 5 years in a row before applying for Medicare.
For Medicare Part A to be premium free according to Department of Health and Human Services:
  • If you are age 65 or older and you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.
  • You are receiving retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board.
  • You are eligible to receive Social Security or Railroad benefits, but you have not yet filed for them.
  • You or your spouse had Medicare-covered government employment.

For more information on eligibility please see: Medicare.gov eligibility tool

Source: The official website of the U.S. Government, Medicare.gov.