Can you have both Medicare and Medicaid at the same time?

Yes. Having both is common, and people who do are called dually eligible.

The two programs stack rather than compete. Medicare pays first for covered care. Medicaid then helps with much of what Medicare leaves behind — the Part B premium, the deductible, and the 20% coinsurance — and adds services Medicare barely covers, such as long-term nursing home care, personal care at home, and transport to appointments.

For someone facing a long course of cancer treatment, that combination can be the difference between bills that are manageable and bills that are not.

There is also a middle ground worth knowing about. If your income is low but not low enough for full Medicaid, you may still qualify for a Medicare Savings Program, which pays your Part B premium and sometimes your deductibles and coinsurance. Qualifying for one of those also gets you Extra Help, which lowers prescription costs to a few dollars.

Because states set their own limits and count income in ways people do not expect, it is worth applying even if you assume you earn too much.