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Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

Medicare and Medicaid are run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, not Social Security.
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Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that covers medical costs for people with limited income and resources. azrin_aziri/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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In today’s column, I’m going to talk about Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Despite what many people think, these government programs are not like three peas in a pod. They are more like a pea, a bean, and a stalk of celery. In other words, they are all sort of connected because they are government programs that sometimes have an overlapping beneficiary base. But ultimately, they are three very different programs with very different rules and very different management structures.

Before I go on, I want to share a story that will seem very disconnected from what I was just writing about. But I promise I will tie it in to the topic at hand.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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