What’s the Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid?

Balancing your health and wellness is already a big deal, from proper diets to daily routines. When the big medical expenses start to come out, though, that is when you need to start figuring out Medicare and Medicaid.

What’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? There is a lot of important details, ranging from who can benefit to what medical aspects they may or may not cover.

We are here to help keep you stay up to date on all the necessary information. Let’s dive deeper!

What’s the Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid?

The core differences between Medicare and Medicaid depend on who is eligible for their coverage. Medicare covers people over the age of 65 as well as some specific medical conditions. Medicaid is for those who have financial troubles and cannot afford regular insurance.

Understanding Medicare

Medicare is a core aspect of many senior’s lives. The funds for Medicare comes from income taxes paid in throughout your lifetime. This is the federal government paying you back in your golden years.

Medicare has 4 distinct parts, each with different types of coverage and potential costs. You can get Medicare plans that provide all or some of these 4 parts, depending on your needs.

The Different Parts of Medicare Coverage

Part A covers any costs from hospitalization. This comes after paying into Medicare for 10 years.

Part B is for general purpose medical insurance and often will be the most important and wide-reaching part of your coverage. Medicare can help to pay for back braces and other medical equipment. It even covers doctor’s visits.

Part C is supplemental insurance that helps to shore up areas where your insurance may not cover at all. You will often gain this when working with certain private insurance companies.

Part D helps with prescriptions and medicine costs. There are many out-of-pocket costs to Part D plans, such as monthly premiums, yearly deductibles, and co-pays.

Understanding Medicaid

Medicaid, on the other hand, operates case by case. It is a program built to help out low-income Americans get the medical coverage they need from simple hospital visits to reducing the heavy costs of accidents and emergency operations.

Medicaid has its own set of rules for children who need lower costing care but whose families may not qualify for Medicaid.

Each state has its own shifts on Medicaid requirements and costs. These all stem from the Federal rules but often differ depending on support from local and state-level officials. Many states require individuals to have a very small amount of liquid assets to remain covered under Medicaid.

The Affordable Care Act provides large expansions to the coverage of Medicaid. Anyone who has Medicaid does not have to pay for the medical services that have coverage under Medicaid. This includes hospitalization, laboratory services, doctor’s appointments, and even family planning and pediatric care.

Keeping Informed, Keeping Healthy

With a better understanding of what’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, you can avoid wasting time applying for benefits that aren’t for you. We hope now that you also have a stronger understanding of how both Medicare and Medicaid can help you.

Keeping informed on health issues is important. We here at Health Maintain Tips have a host of articles on a wide variety of topics to help guide your health choices. Check them out today!