Medicare and Medicaid are programs that were developed to help Americans receive quality health care. Both programs were established in 1965 and receive federal support to provide health care coverage to vulnerable populations such as seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income people. Medicare and Medicaid are federally mandated and determine coverage for each program; both are managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency (“What is Medicare? What is Medicaid?” 2008). Disabled youth meeting specific disability criteria and dialysis patients with permanent kidney failure are Social Security related, not income-based, and available to all Americans meeting program requirements. Those who qualify for Medicare can select Original Medicare Part A. (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) paying coinsurance and deductibles or choose to add Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans) paying a monthly premium and Copayments normally lower than out-of-pocket costs for original Medicare. Medicaid is an assistance program for low-income people, regardless of age. A federally mandated program, Medicaid is administered by state and local governments according to established federal guidelines. Income and resource levels are the primary way each state determines eligibility, with the level varying from state to state. Eligibility is also affected by other factors such as age, whether you are pregnant, blind, or have other disabilities, and U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status. Some states require...... middle of paper ......//permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps70995/state.gov/etexts/oecon/index.htmFile, T. & Crissey, S. (2010). Voting and registration in the November 2008 elections – Characteristics of the population. Retrieved August 21, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-562. “Medicare and the New Health Care Law – What it Means for You.” » (2010). Medicare Publications, http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11467.pdfKenney, G. M., & Cook, A. (2010). Potential impacts of alternative health care reform proposals for children with Medicaid and CHIP coverage. The Urban Institute Health Policy Center. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/411993_CHIP_coverage.pdfExplaining Health Care Reform: Questions About Medicaid's Role. (2010). The Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed August 20, 2010 from http://www.kff.org/healthreform/7920.cfm