In a nutshell, Medicaid is a needs based program. It is usually for persons who have never worked due to disability, retired persons who meet the financial criteria, etc. If this guy has any cash in his name, or any property, etc., he likely will have difficulty qualifying, as other posters have pointed out - they check your records very thoroughly.
Medicaid is usually tied to SSI (but, retired persons can become Medicaid eligible in some states depending on their financial status, it's complicated)) - whereas Medicare is tied to SS and SSDI.
So the man in question, if he is in fact applying for Medicaid, is likely also applying for SSI based on disability and little work history.
MEDICARE
* Health Insurance for seniors.
* Need to have contributed to Medicare system to be eligible.
* Pays for primary hospital care and related medically necessary services.
* Generally individual must be over 65 to be eligible.
* May have a co-pay provision depending on the services received.
* Federally controlled, uniform application across the country.
MEDICAID
* Needs based health program.
* Pays for long term care.
* Individual must meet income and asset test to be eligible.
* Individual must be over 65, disabled or blind.
* Requires mandatory contribution of ALL recipient's income.
* Individual state by state differences create a different program in each state. (Generally similar, but may be different in specific application.)
More:
http://www.virtuallawoffice.com/medicwhat.htmlMedicare vs Medicaid - Medicaid - Examples of several of these categories include:
* Children and Pregnant Women - Low income pregnant women and children through age 18 may be eligible for Medicaid. The income guideline for pregnant women and children under the age of 6 is 133% of the federal poverty guideline. Children ages 6 through 18 are eligible if their family incomes do not exceed 100% of the federal poverty guideline.
* Parents - Low income parents and other caretakers of children may qualify for Medicaid.
* People with Disabilities- People who receive SSI because of disability or because they are 65 years of age or older are automatically eligible for Medicaid in thirty-nine states. Eleven states, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Virginia, are known as 209(b) states and each can set its own eligibility criteria for Medicaid that is different than the SSI criteria.
In addition, individuals who meets the level of care requirement for nursing home care and whose incomes do not exceed 300% of the SSI benefit amount may be eligible for Medicaid nursing home services or Home and Community-Based Waiver Services.
* Children in Foster Care - Children in foster care under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and certain recipients of adoption assistance are eligible for Medicaid. In addition, youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who were in foster care may be eligible for Medicaid through the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999.
* Medicare beneficiaries - Certain Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes and limited resources may be eligible to receive full Medicaid benefits. Other Medicare beneficiaries whose income exceeds the level for full Medicaid eligibility may be eligible to receive limited Medicaid benefits to cover some Medicare cost-sharing expenses such as premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance.
* Medically Needy Individuals - Medically needy programs provide Medicaid coverage to some individuals who have income or resources above the required limits set by their state but who have incurred or paid sufficient medical expenses to allow them to meet the "spend down" test.
here:
http://www.residual-rewards.com/medicarevsmedicaid.html