From the Guidelines
You are eligible to start Medicare at age 65 [ 1 ].
Eligibility Details
- The Medicare program covers virtually all Americans 65 years of age and older [ 1 ].
- Typically, the initial enrollment period for Medicare begins three months before your 65th birthday and ends three months after [no direct evidence, but general medicine knowledge].
- It's recommended to sign up during this period to avoid late enrollment penalties [no direct evidence, but general medicine knowledge].
- For those 65 years of age and older, coverage remained stable at 99.5%, indicating the ongoing success of the Medicare program [ 1 ].
Importance of Medicare Eligibility
- Improvements in health outcomes, including survival and reductions in health disparities, have also been demonstrated for older adults with diabetes as a result of entering the Medicare program [ 1 ].
- Preventing and successfully treating diabetes is possible only if individuals have access to comprehensive, high-quality, and affordable health care, which Medicare provides for those 65 and older [ 1 ].
From the Research
Medicare Eligibility Age
- The current Medicare eligibility age is 65 years old 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- There have been proposals to raise the Medicare eligibility age to 67 or 70, but these proposals have not been implemented 2, 3
- Raising the Medicare eligibility age could have negative health and economic effects, particularly for certain populations such as Blacks and individuals with functional disability 2, 4
- Studies have shown that Medicare eligibility at age 65 improves access to and use of care, alleviates financial hardship, and reduces health disparities 4, 6
Effects of Medicare Eligibility
- Medicare eligibility leads to increases in health insurance coverage and reductions in financial burden of care for both individuals with and without functional disability 4
- However, individuals with functional disability may still face barriers to accessing care, even after obtaining Medicare eligibility 4
- Continuous insurance coverage before age 65 is associated with improved health outcomes and reduced medical spending for new Medicare beneficiaries 6
Policy Implications
- Policies aimed at ensuring equitable access to care for individuals with functional disability are needed 4
- Extending insurance coverage to all Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 could improve health outcomes and reduce total short-term spending by Medicare and Medicaid for newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries 6