To begin with, Medicare represents a U.S. federal government health insurance system primarily targeted for people who are aged over 65 years old. This system comprises of three primary parts – namely part A, which covers the expenses of hospitalization, surgeries, and so on, part B which covers the expenses of lab visits, visits to the doctor’s office, X-rays, and part D that covers the costs of medicine and prescription drugs.
That being said, Medicare is associated with numerous benefits, especially as the elderly are more predisposed to have an array of health problems.
More Information about Medicare
Expressly, Medicare as a health system is funded by federal money. This is primarily why these services are restricted to permanent legal residents of the United States. Considering that you aren’t a US resident, then this means you must have a Green Card. There are also two instances in which you are not eligible to benefit from the advantages provided by Medicare: if you are married to a US permanent resident, without being a resident yourself or you are in the US on a visa.
On a different note, in some isolated scenarios, marriage could make you eligible for free Part A premiums. Still, beforehand, you have to address the specifications concerning the citizenship and legal residency requirements.
Do Green Card Holders Qualify for Getting Medicare?
As a rule of thumb, as a new immigrant in the United States, or as a recent Green Card holder, you may not qualify for getting Medicare. This is widely due to the strict criteria. In this situation, your option would be purchasing temporary health insurance that supplies medical insurance applicative for non-US citizens.
According to official specifications, a legal permanent resident or a US citizen aged over 65 years old can qualify for Medicare benefits. The person or the spouse is required to have worked in the US for 40 quarters, at a minimum, as this would entail paying for taxes during that timeframe.
This is why as a recent Green Card holder, the likelihood of qualifying for Medicare right away is slim. Still, there’s another possibility that could appeal to you: namely purchasing Medicare insurance. If you want to do so, you still have to meet some specifications, as follows:
- You must be aged over 65-years old.
- You are a Green Card holder and have been living in the US for longer than five years and you don’t benefit from Social Security advantages
- Recently, you have become a US citizen by neutralization, and you didn’t work for the designated timeframe required by the Medicare system
We hope that our brief article on the topic of Medicare insurance has addressed most of your questions. As you can see, the eligibility criteria for Medicare insurance are rather strict, primarily because the system is federally funded. If Medicare is out of reach for you, you may always consider other insurance programs, as there are different options to choose from.