At age 65 most US citizens earn the right to enroll in Medicare. Eligibility is based on whether you have worked the minimum required amount and made the required contributions through payroll taxes over your lifetime. For people that don’t meet the requirement, they may still participate in Medicare but will have to pay more. In some cases, it is also available to people under age 65 if they are totally disabled.

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Medicare is a federal health insurance program that will pay for medical expenses such as hospitalization, surgery, doctor visits, etc. There are four parts to Medicare:

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Part A – Hospitalization

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Part B – Expenses outside the hospital

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Part C – Medicare Advantage plans

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Part D – Prescription Drug plans

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In most cases, once someone enrolls in Parts A and B of Medicare they will also purchase a Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage Plan to help cover costs not paid by Medicare. At this time, you should also enroll in a Part D plan.