Eligibility

• Individuals age 65 and older are eligible to receive Medicare benefits if they have paid Social Security taxes for at least 10 years. These taxes are typically taken out by the individual's employer, though self-employed individuals also pay these taxes when they file their yearly or quarterly tax returns. People younger than 65 can receive Medicare benefits only if they have been diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease, which is a permanent condition requiring an individual to receive long-term dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant due to kidney failure.
  
  

Coverage and Benefits

• Because you have already paid into the Social Security program for at least 10 years, your Medicare benefits come free of charge once you reach age 65. These benefits typically help you cover necessary hospital stays, treatments and procedures. They do not cover visits to the doctor's office or any tests, including laboratory or X-ray tests, that may result from that doctor's visit. However, if your doctor agrees to accept assignment then he is agreeing to see you and only charge you a Medicare deductible, and not other fees. Call your doctor's office before seeing a doctor to determine whether or not he will accept your visit on assignment. After your doctor has seen you and diagnosed your condition, any resulting treatments are likely to be partially covered by Medicare unless they are elective procedures or pertain to the ears or eyes.
  
  

Medicare Bills

• If you receive a Medicare-covered service or your doctor accepts assignment on a typically non-Medicare visit or procedure you will receive a Medicare Summary Notice in the mail. These notices are mailed every three months, and break down all the services received, what was covered by Medicare and what was not covered by Medicare. Once you receive this notice (not a bill) you should contact any other insurance providers you may have retained to see how much, if any, of the remaining they will cover. Medicare also offers a Part B coverage plan that can be purchased for approximately $90 a month. This fee is taken out of the individual's monthly Social Security check. It can provide additional coverage where the original Medicare plan will not.