Why Enroll in Medicare?
When you sign up for Medicare, the Indian health hospitals and clinics can bill Medicare for services provided. This brings money into the health care facility, which can then be used to hire more staff, pay for new equipment and building renovations, and save money to serve even more patients. This same result is true for any of any of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
By enrolling in Medicare, you are helping yourself and others, and also supporting your Indian health care hospital and clinics.
Additional reasons to enroll in Medicare include:
- Indian Health Services (IHS) is not health insurance and may not cover all your healthcare needs.
- You may need care that IHS or your tribe does not provide or cannot afford.
- Most people age 65+ can get Medicare, including if you’re using IHS services.
- Medicare is insurance that gives you better coverage from more providers.
- You may qualify for free or low-cost Medicare coverage.
- With Medicare, you can still use tribal, urban or IHS programs.
- Using Medicare helps save your tribe’s healthcare money and resources.
- You can contact your tribal benefits coordinator or your local Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) for Medicare help.
Related Resources
Tribal Nations & Medicare
Resources on Medicare, Other Health Care Programs & Links to CA Tribal Clinics
This webpage was made possible by a generous grant from the Yocha Dehe Winton Nation (YDWN)
