Medicare Basics

State Medicaid staff working to advance integrated care for their dually eligible populations may find it helpful to learn more about Medicare and how Medicare’s rules, covered benefits, and administrative processes align with those of the Medicaid program.

Working with Medicare. ICRC offers the Working with Medicare webinar series to help orient state Medicaid staff to Medicare policy.

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• Working with Medicare: Medicare 101

  This webinar provides an overview of the Medicare program–including Medicare eligibility, benefits, and coverage options–and discusses how Medicare and Medicaid benefits overlap and interact for dually eligible individuals. (ICRC, April 2025)

• Introduction to Dually Eligible Individuals (coming in June 2025)

• Working with Medicare: Coordination of Medicare and Medicaid Behavioral Health Benefits

  This webinar provides an overview of Medicare and Medicaid behavioral health benefits (including mental health and substance use disorder benefits) for dually eligible individuals. (ICRC, April 2024)

• State Contracting with D-SNPs. This two-part webinar provides an overview of state strategies for contracting with D-SNPs to improve care coordination and Medicare-Medicaid alignment for dually eligible individuals. (ICRC, December 2022)
  • Introduction to D-SNPs and D-SNP Contracting Basics
  • Using D-SNPs to Integrate Care for Dually Eligible Individuals

• Medicare and Medicaid Nursing Facility Benefits: The Basics and Options for Improved Coordination and Quality

  This webinar provides an overview of Medicare and Medicaid nursing facility benefits and payment methods, as well as options to improve coordination and quality of nursing facility benefits for dually eligible individuals in both fee-for-service and managed care systems. (ICRC, July 2021)

Other Medicare Resources. ICRC also has other resources that explain basic Medicare concepts for states.

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• Medicare Basics: An Overview for States Seeking to Integrate Care for Medicare-Medicaid Enrollees

  This brief is designed to help states better structure and coordinate the Medicaid benefits they offer to Medicare-Medicaid enrollees by providing them with basic information on the Medicare program, the services it covers, and the process used to set rates. (ICRC, June 2017)

• Glossary of Terms Related to Integrated Care for Dually Eligible Individuals

  This resource highlights key terms related to dually eligible individuals and the Medicare and Medicaid integrated care programs that serve them. (ICRC, April 2025)