Home >
FAQ > What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?
What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?
The short answer is that Medicaid is a program for people with limited resources, and Medicare isn't. Many disabled people who get Medicaid get it because they are on Supplemental Security Income (SSI). To get SSI and thereby get Medicaid you have to be poor and disabled. Medicaid does pay for prescription medications. Medicaid can go back up to three months prior to the date of a Medicaid claim. For Medicare it does not matter whether you are rich or poor. If you have been on Disability Insurance Benefits, Disabled Widows or Widowers Benefit or Disabled Adult child Benefits for 24 months you qualify for Medicare. The good thing about Medicare is that it pays doctors at a higher rate than Medicaid. Almost all doctors are happy to take Medicare patients. Medicare does not begin until after a person has been on disability benefits for two years, and it only pays for prescriptions through Medicare Part D.