Adults aged 65 and older — and those in certain situations — qualify to enroll in Medicare
Key Takeaways:
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Most 65-year-olds in the U.S. are eligible.
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But most are not enrolled automatically.
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Premium-free Part A reward for 10 years’ work.
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Almost everyone pays for Medicare Part B.
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Certain people with disabilities get early Medicare.
Medicare enrollment reached 70 million in January 2026, and more than 9 in 10 of the people taking part in the federal health insurance program are age 65 or older.
If you are approaching 65 and wondering whether you are eligible for Medicare, you probably are. Nearly 99 percent of the 65-and-older population had Medicare coverage in 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated, the most recent information available.
When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare, along with Medicaid, into law in 1965, it was designed to be a health care plan for people 65 and older no matter their income or health. Today you are eligible at age 65 if you are:
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A U.S. citizen, or
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A permanent legal resident, better known as a green card holder, who has lived continuously in the U.S. for at least five years, or
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A member of a few immigrant groups specifically named in federal law — certain people from Cuba, Haiti or the small Pacific island nations of Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau whom the U.S. government has allowed to live in this country under special immigration rules
Eligibility doesn’t equal enrollment
But do not confuse eligibility with coverage. Medicare does not kick in automatically when you turn 65.
If you are not receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits yet, you generally need to sign up for Medicare during your seven-month initial enrollment period, which runs three months before and three months after the month you turn 65. If you have been getting your monthly checks for at least four months by your 65th birthday, the government will enroll you.
As full retirement age for Social Security has crept up to 67 for this year’s 65-year-olds, the percentage of retirees filing for Social Security benefits before 65 has declined steadily. In 2024 it was about 40 percent, according to Social Security Administration data.
