Medicare vs Medicaid

Medicare vs Medicaid: There are many differences between Medicare and Medicaid. A list of differences between Medicare and Medicaid are given below:

No.	Comparison Index	Medicare	Medicaid
1)	Introduction:	Medicare is a federal program with uniform national rules.It covers senior citizens (age over 65) and other disabled individual of any age. It also covers patients of every ages suffering from end-stage renal disease.	Medicaid is a federal program administered by the states. It is intended to help the low-income individuals and families.Children are more eligible than adults for this coverage.
2)	Eligibility Criteria:	All senior citizens (age over 62) are eligible for this program. Peoples below 62 are also eligible in the case of serious disability covered by social security.	All low-income peoples are eligible, regardless of age.
3)	Coverage:	It covers the hospital and post-hospital facility charges and home health care. It also covers Doctor's fees, labs costs with prescription drug coverage.	It covers the basic health care costs like visit to the doctor and hospital stays. It can also cover some other expenses like the cost of eyeglasses.
4)	Costs:	There are three type of medicare plans and every plan has its own benefits and charges. Plan A: It co-payments for lengthy hospital bills. Part B: It covers 20-35% medical bill and a monthly premium. Prt D: It covers the drug cost.	Medicaid can cover the 20% of medical costs that medicare will not pay for. Sometimes it charges a small fees for certain services.
5)	Governed by:	It is totally governed by federal government.	It is jointly governed by federal and state government.
6)	User satisfaction:	High.	Relatively high.
7)	Population covered:	Around 15% of population in USA is covered by Medicare.	Around 20% of population is covered by medicaid. 40% of total childbirth and half of the HIV/AIDS regular patients are also covered.

Medicare vs. Medicaid

Medicare and Medicaid both are U.S. based government-sponsored programs that were created in 1965 and designed to covers healthcare costs. Due to its similar names peoples are often confused about the works and functionality of them. Although both are healthcare programs but there are some major differences between them.

What is Medicare

It is an insurance program that is used to provide medical care to the peoples over 65. It is a federal program attached to social security. This program is available for all U.S. citizen with the age of 65 years. It also covers the people under 65 with certain disabilities.

Benefits of Medicare program

Medicare program consist of four parts:

1) Hospitalization coverage

It covers all the cost of being in the hospital and the medical facility.

2) Medical Insurance

This part covers the doctor's fees, medical tests and procedures etc. In includes all things done to you. The citizen should pay a monthly premium for this part coverage.

3) Supplemental Insurance and advantages

It is an alternative to the traditional Medicare coverage. Its coverage often includes part A, B and D. Medical advantage programs are administered by private insurance companies.

4) Prescribed drug coverage

For this part, you should also pay a monthly premium. It is administered by private insurance companies. You are required to have it unless you have to take coverage from other source.

What is Medicaid

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program intended to help the low-income individuals and families. It is an assistance program which provides medical facility to low-income people of every age. In this program, patients usually don't need to pay extra costs for covered medical expenses. Sometimes a small co-payment is required (varies from state to state). It is governed and controlled by state and local government.

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