Medicare and Medicaid are both health insurance programs of the U.S. government, their main differences are the following:
- While Medicaid aims to provide healthcare to eligible low-income citizens of all ages (adults, children, pregnant women, elderly, adults and people with disabilities), and some qualified non-citizens as well, Medicare only aims to provide healthcare to people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities and people with End-Stage Renal Disease regardless of their income.
- Medicaid is both a state and federal program, meaning that it is administered by states, according to federal requirements, and it is funded jointly by states and the federal government. Medicare is a federal program only.