Yes. Having Medicaid does not prevent you from getting Medicare. In fact, many people have both at the same time, and this combination is called dual eligibility.
You can absolutely have both Medicare and Medicaid. When someone qualifies for both programs, they're referred to as dually eligible, or sometimes just a dual eligible beneficiary. It's more common than many people realize. Medicare is federal health insurance based primarily on age or disability. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program based on income and financial need. They serve different purposes and can work together. In most cases, Medicare pays first for covered services, and Medicaid may help cover costs that Medicare doesn't, such as premiums, deductibles, copays, or services Medicare doesn't include, like some long-term care. The exact benefits depend on which Medicaid program you qualify for and the state you live in. If you're on both programs, you may also qualify for a Medicare Savings Program, which is a specific type of Medicaid benefit that helps pay your Medicare Part B premium and sometimes other cost-sharing. For people with limited income, this can make a significant difference in monthly expenses. If you're already on Medicaid and turning 65, it's important to still enroll in Medicare when you're first eligible. Medicaid alone generally won't cover everything Medicare does, and delaying Medicare enrollment can create complications and potential penalties. A local benefits counselor can help you understand exactly how your state's Medicaid program interacts with Medicare.
Utah has a Medicare Savings Program that may help qualifying low-income residents pay their Medicare Part B premium and reduce other out-of-pocket costs. Utah's ADRC offices can help you find out if you qualify and assist with the application.
For you, this means having Medicaid and Medicare together can actually reduce your healthcare costs significantly, and it's worth finding out if you qualify for programs that help cover Medicare's premiums and cost-sharing.
Our Commitment to Reliable Medicare Information
At Resting Sycamore Advisors, we work to provide accurate, current, and trustworthy information about Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and Special Needs Plans.
To do that, we use data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which is the official source for Medicare plan and enrollment information.
Our Medicare plan pages and comparison tools are powered by CMS datasets, including:
When possible, we link to the original CMS resources so you can review the source material directly.
We follow the CMS release schedule and update our website as new data becomes available.
We load new plan year Landscape and PBP files before the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 through December 7). We also monitor CMS.gov for updates or revisions and refresh our content when needed.
We update enrollment and performance data as CMS publishes revised files, which are typically released monthly or quarterly.
We routinely monitor CMS announcements for corrections, reissued files, or other changes and update our pages accordingly.
Each plan page includes a Last Accessed date so visitors can see when the source information was most recently reviewed.
CMS data can be difficult to read in raw form. To make it easier to use, we format and organize the data for clarity.
This includes:
All data values come from CMS. We do not change the underlying values beyond formatting, organization, and presentation.
We keep internal records of the CMS dataset versions used on our site.
If CMS issues corrected or revised files, we update our website to reflect the latest available version.
Please keep the following in mind:
For personalized Medicare assistance, please use these official resources: