To qualify for Medicare, you have to work and pay Medicare taxes for 40 quarters. The Medicare payroll tax is 2.9%, split 1.45% paid by the employer and 1.45% paid by you. If you are self-employed, you pay the full 2.9%.

The minimum requirement of 40 quarters is the equivalent of 10 years. Some may qualify for Medicare through a spouse, similar to Social Security and other special circumstances. Most people are expected to work from age 25 to 65. That’s 40 years of paying Medicare taxes. Medicare covers you in your senior retirement years for approximately 20 years, ages 65 to 85.

To expect everyone to be covered under Medicare is unrealistic. Time and taxes have to be paid, to be covered under Medicare. It is not a free program.

Vicky Walker

Waikiki

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