Who Qualifies For Medicare And Medicaid? 
People who qualify for free Medicare Part A are persons who have paid Medicare taxes through their employment for at least 10 years , and are age 65 . Those who are in the US legally , but have not paid into Medicare that long , can pay a premium for Part A. Medicare is also available to some persons with Lou Gehrig 's Disease or End State Renal Disease . And people who have been on Social Security Disability for two years can get Medicare . Medicaid is for persons with low income and very few assets . So the guidelines to get Medicaid are completely different than Medicare . 