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Does Medicare Offer Life Insurance?
Reviewed by John Krahnert
Medicare does not include life insurance. Learn what Medicare does and does not cover, how the program differs from life insurance and how to find a Medicare plan that fits your needs.
Medicare provides health insurance to older adults and those with qualifying disabilities. And while Medicare covers a wide range of goods and services, Medicare does not offer life insurance or any form of inheritance. It’s important to remember that Medicare is health insurance, not life insurance.
That being said, health insurance and life insurance often go hand in hand and those enrolling in Medicare plans are also often shopping for life insurance policies. Additionally, both Medicare and life insurance provide financial assistance for people and their loved ones, albeit in slightly different ways.
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Does Medicare give you life insurance?
No, Medicare doesn’t include life insurance benefits.
- Medicare provides financial help to those who are still alive.
- Life insurance provides financial assistance to surviving loved ones after a person’s passing.
Medicare covers both inpatient and outpatient health care along with durable medical equipment (DME) such as walkers, wheelchairs and more.
Meanwhile, a life insurance policy sets aside a sum of money to be given to surviving family members, friends or organizations following the death of a policyholder.
Money received from a life insurance death benefit may be used to pay:
- The deceased person’s outstanding medical bills
- Funeral expenses
- A child’s education costs
- Other debts and expenses
Some life insurance policies allow for “living benefits,” which grants you access to a portion of the death benefit while you are still alive if you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Is there a Medicare death benefit?
Unlike life insurance, Medicare does not offer a death benefit for beneficiaries. However, those who are on Medicare are also typically on Social Security, and Social Security does issue a one-time payment to a surviving spouse or child.
As of 2023, the Social Security death payment amount is just $255.
Social Security also provides survivor’s benefits, which is essentially a takeover of a deceased person’s Social Security checks. Learn more about Social Security’s one-time death benefit and survivor’s benefits.
Where can you buy both Medicare and life insurance?
While Medicare and life insurance are two very different types of policies, there are a handful of insurance companies that sell both products. Just a few such insurers include:
Contact a licensed insurance agent to compare Medicare plans available where you live.
About the author
Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.
..Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.
Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.
Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.
Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.
A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@tzhealthmedia.com.
By clicking "Sign me up!” you are agreeing to receive emails from MedicareAdvantage.com.
Thanks for signing up for our emails!
Your Medicare guide will arrive in your email inbox shortly. You can also look forward to informative email updates about Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
If you'd like to speak with an agent right away, we're standing by for that as well. Give us a call!
LICENSED AGENTS AVAILABLE NOW