Medicare

Your clients who are homeless may be eligible for Medicare, a Federal health insurance program, if they have worked long enough and:

• They are age 65 or older
• They are under age 65 and have a disability
• They have End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure needing regular dialysis or a kidney transplant)

For more information about Medicare eligibility for a specific client, go to Medicare’s Web site at www.medicare.gov and click on the Medicare Eligibility Tool.

Benefits Your Client May Receive
Medicare has two parts:

Part A (Hospital Insurance)
Most people do not pay for Medicare Part A because they paid the Medicare tax when they were working.

Part A helps pay for:

• Inpatient hospital care
• Outpatient or inpatient care at critical access hospitals (small facilities that provide limited inpatient services to people in rural areas)
• Skilled nursing facilities
• Hospice care

Part B (Medical Insurance)
Most people pay monthly for Part B.

Part B helps pay for the following when medically necessary:

• Doctor services
• Outpatient hospital care
• Some physical and occupational therapists
  

Medicare plans offer a variety of services. You should refer your clients to the Medicare & You handbook, which can be obtained for free by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY users should call
1-877-486-2048, or by visiting the Medicare Web site at www.medicare.gov/Publications/pubs/pdf/10050.pdf.