The Differences Between Medicare and Medicaid

People who are injured in truck accidents, semi tractor-trailer highway accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, car wrecks with drunk drivers and other automobile accidents often must rely on Medicaid or Medicare to pay the bills for their injuries.  It does not matter if the injury is a brain injury, a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia, back injury, blindness, amputation or even wrongful death.  Smart accident attorneys and accident lawyers know the difference between these two government sponsored health plans.

First, Medicare is a federal government program funded with federal government dollars.  Medicaid is a state run program which is funded in large part (upwards of 80%) by federal dollars.  The rest of the money is contributed by state funds.  All the money we are talking about come from tax dollars.  These two programs make up a large part of the debt you hear about on the news these days.  There is some concern about whether we can sustain these programs, but that is a discussion for another day.  What you need to know today is that these programs are functioning to assist lower income and disabled Americans pay their medical bills and obtain medical services.

Medicare is available to those who have reached retirement age or are receiving Social Security Disability. It is an entitlement program, meaning that if you are at retirement age, or on Social Security Disability, you are entitled to the benefits of the Medicare program.  Medicaid is a needs based program.  This means that you must have limited resources (money).  I believe the eligibility cap these days is less than $2,000.00 in assets.  Therefore you are only eligible for Medicaid if you meet these need requirements.

Each program has its own rules and regulations about what it will pay for.  You should visit the website of the Social Security Administration to find out the type and limit of those benefits.   You should visit your local state Medicaid office for information about Medicaid benefits.

If you are injured and these programs pay for your bills, but the cause of your injuries was the negligence of another person, and you recover compensation from that person, both programs are entitled to be repaid some or all of the money paid for your bills.  Smart injury attorneys know how to deal with and negotiate with these programs on your behalf.  John P. Young knows the ins and outs of how these programs work to help you pay your bills if you are injured in a car accident or a construction accident.  Please, give him a call.