January 17th, 2020

Medicare is a federal program that provides health coverage if you are 65+ or under 65 and have a disability, no matter your income and resources, you must qualify based on certain criteria and maybe subject to premiums and deductibles.

On the other hand, Medicaid is a state and federal program that provides health coverage if you have a very low income and resources.
If an individual qualifies for both coverages (AkA dual coverage) then both Medicare and Medicaid would be used together to pay for the health services needed and provide a full and comprehensive insurance package.

Are there differences between Medicare and Medicaid in term of coverage?
Is Medicare better than medicaid?
Each coverage has its merits, however, Medicaid covers some services that Medicare typically doesn't i.e Dental, vision and hearing aids.
Medicaid, can also cover the cost of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care alternatives as long as they're deemed medically necessary.

Medicaid has a state component, since it is administered by each state, while Medicare is entirely federal and managed through Social Security administration.

Dual individuals who are eligible for both coveraged have the best of both worlds and when they add a Medicare Advantage, AKA part C(to be discussed later on), they pretty much get full and comprehensive coverage at typically a very low cost or no cost depending on their type and level of Medicaid (FPL Federal  Poverty Level).
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