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50 free Medicare trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
40 free Medicare trivia questions with answers. Medicare covers about 65 million Americans, and almost everyone who reaches 65 has to learn its alphabet of Parts A, B, C and D. This Medicare trivia quiz is for senior centres, insurance-agent events, retirement parties and anyone who wants to test how well they really understand the program. It covers the history: Eisenhower's conference on ageing, Lyndon Johnson signing the law at the Truman Library in 1965 with Harry and Bess Truman as the first enrollees, the 1972 disability expansion, the 1997 arrival of Part C and the 2006 launch of Part D. It covers the rules: who is eligible, what each part pays for, how the payroll tax works, hospital days and lifetime reserve days, the Two-Midnight Rule, late enrollment penalties, Medigap plans and what Medicare does not cover. And it covers the numbers, from premiums and deductibles to the size of the program. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's article on Medicare in the United States. Dollar figures are the ones current for the year stated in the question.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01At what age do most Americans become eligible for Medicare?
65
Younger people qualify if they have been on Social Security Disability Insurance for 24 months, or immediately with end-stage renal disease or ALS.
Q 02Which president signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965?
Lyndon B. Johnson
He signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 as Title XVIII of the Social Security Act. Medicaid was created by the same law.
Q 03Who became the first Medicare recipient at the 1965 signing ceremony at his presidential library?
Harry S. Truman
He and his wife Bess received the first cards. Truman had pushed for national health insurance during his own presidency.
Q 04In which Missouri city was the Medicare law signed?
Independence
The Truman Library sits there. Before Medicare only about 60 percent of over-65s had health insurance, and they paid three times what younger people did.
Q 05How many parts is Medicare divided into?
Four
Parts A and B together are called Original Medicare; Part C is the private-plan alternative and Part D covers prescription drugs.
Q 06Which letter of Medicare covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing and hospice?
A
Part B is outpatient and doctor services. The Two-Midnight Rule decides whether a hospital visit counts as inpatient under A or outpatient under B.
Q 07What is Part C better known as?
Advantage plans
Private plans must be actuarially equivalent to Parts A and B and usually add extras like dental, vision and an out-of-pocket cap.
Q 08What does Medicare Part D cover?
Self-administered prescription drugs
It was created by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and took effect on January 1, 2006.
Q 09In what year did Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage take effect?
2006
Enrollees choose a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage built in.
Q 10Under which president was the HMO option formalised as Medicare Part C in 1997?
Bill Clinton
About three-quarters of Part C plan sponsors are still HMOs. Part D came under George W. Bush in 2003.
Q 11Which federal agency has administered Medicare since its 2001 renaming?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CMS, formerly the Health Care Financing Administration, is part of Health and Human Services. Social Security determines eligibility and collects most premiums.
Q 12What is the total Medicare payroll tax rate, split between employer and worker?
2.9 percent
Each side pays 1.45 percent, and the self-employed pay both halves. The wage cap on the tax was removed in 1994.
Q 13How many people did Medicare cover in 2022?
65 million
Q 21What was the standard monthly Part B premium for 2025?
$185.00
It was $174.70 in 2024. Higher earners have paid an income-based surcharge since 2007.
Q 22After the deductible, what percentage of the approved rate does Part B typically pay?
80 percent
The patient owes the other 20 percent, often picked up by Medigap or retiree coverage. Preventive services like mammograms are covered in full.
Q 23Which of these does Part B cover as durable medical equipment?
Walkers and wheelchairs
Canes, lift chairs, mobility scooters, prosthetic limbs and home oxygen also count. One pair of glasses is covered only after cataract surgery.
That is more than 57 million people aged 65 and over plus about 8 million younger people with disabilities. Enrollment is projected to pass 80 million by 2030.
Q 14Roughly what share of enrollees' healthcare expenses does Medicare cover?
About half
Beneficiaries fill the gap with Medigap policies, Part D plans or Medicare Advantage.
Q 15How many hospital days does Part A cover per benefit period before lifetime reserve days kick in?
90
The first 60 days are paid in full after the deductible; days 61 to 90 carry a daily co-payment.
Q 16How many lifetime reserve hospital days does a Medicare beneficiary get in total?
60
They can be used after the 90-day limit, once, over a lifetime, at a co-payment of $816 a day in 2024.
Q 17What was the Part A hospital deductible in 2024?
$1,632
A new benefit period, with a fresh deductible, starts only after 60 days with no Medicare-paid hospital or skilled-nursing care.
Q 18What is the 'Two-Midnight Rule' used to decide?
Whether a hospital stay is inpatient (Part A) or outpatient (Part B)
If the doctor expects care to cross two midnights, Part A generally pays; shorter stays fall under Part B, which also affects skilled-nursing eligibility.
Q 19How long must a hospital stay last before Part A will cover a skilled nursing facility stay?
Three nights
That is three midnights as an inpatient, not counting the discharge date. Part A then covers up to 100 days, the first 20 in full.
Q 20To receive hospice benefits, a doctor must certify a patient's remaining life expectancy is below what?
Six months
Hospice is covered 100 percent under Part A, apart from co-pays for outpatient drugs and respite care. The benefit began in 1982 and became permanent in 1984.
Q 24By how much can the Part B premium rise per full year of unexcused late enrollment?
10 percent
Unlike the Part A penalty, which lasts twice the delay, the Part B penalty lasts for as long as the person has Medicare.
Q 25What is the annual Medicare open enrollment window?
October 15 to December 7
It is when beneficiaries can switch between Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.
Q 26What must every Part C plan include that Original Medicare lacks?
An annual out-of-pocket spending limit
Original Medicare has no cap on what a beneficiary can owe in a year, which is a big reason people buy Medigap or choose Part C.
Q 27What is the common name for private supplemental insurance that fills the gaps in Original Medicare?
Medigap
Every insurer selling it must offer Plan A. Plan F was closed to new buyers in 2020, though existing holders can keep it.
Q 28Which lettered supplemental policy was closed to new enrollees in 2020?
Plan F
Insurers must still offer Plan A, and either Plan C or F to existing eligible buyers if they sell anything beyond Plan A.
Q 29Which of these costs is NOT covered by any part of Medicare?
Long-term custodial care
Help with activities of daily living such as bathing, cooking and cleaning is excluded, which is why many people carry separate long-term care insurance.
Q 30In 1972 Medicare was expanded to younger people with disabilities and to patients with which condition?
End-stage renal disease
People needing dialysis or a kidney transplant qualify at any age. ALS was added in 2001.