Because Medicare is health insurance, it doesn’t offer life insurance. Instead, it covers medical costs such as doctor appointments, hospital visits, and medications.

Life insurance pays for expenses incurred after someone’s death, such as funeral expenses, debts, or replacing the deceased’s lost income.

You can’t get life insurance from Medicare. Instead, you must buy a separate private policy from an insurer that offers it. That said, Medicare does cover hospice care, and you can get some death benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Medicare doesn’t offer life insurance or coverage for funeral expenses. However, if you or a loved one are on Medicare and are living with an end stage illness, you can get coverage for hospice care.

Original Medicare (parts A and B) will cover this, even if you’re enrolled in Medicare Advantage (Part C). Typically, there’s no deductible, and Medicare will pay the approved provider directly. You’ll just have to pay the premiums and coinsurance.

In 2025, Original Medicare without premium-free Part A will cost $285 or $518 monthly, depending on how long you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes. And while most people pay a $185 monthly premium for Part B, Medicare Advantage premiums vary by plan.

While the SSA does not offer life insurance, it does offer survivor benefits. Both survivor benefits and life insurance provide financial help after a person’s death, but they work differently.

Survivor benefits deliver continuous monthly payments to qualifying family members of someone who has died. These are generally about 75% of the deceased person’s social security benefits, though this depends on the age of the person who died and whether you’re their spouse or their child.

On the other hand, life insurance provides a one-time lump-sum payment after your loved one dies. The payout amount varies, but is generally several hundred thousand dollars.

As part of this, the SSA also gives a $255 lump sum death benefit if you’re a surviving spouse or child of a Medicare beneficiary who has died. This benefit can assist with cremation costs, though it won’t cover the full expense.

In addition, the SSA also allows you to set up a burial fund for future funeral expenses for up to $1,500.

Like Medicare, Medicaid is health insurance, not life insurance. Eligibility is usually based on the federal poverty level (FPL), but it can vary depending on where you live and your specific situation.

In most cases, if your income is below 133% of the FPL, you’re likely to qualify. However, some groups, like children eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), might be eligible even if their parents earn up to 375% of the FPL in some states.

For this reason, because Medicaid eligibility depends on income, Medicaid may regard a life insurance policy you’re enrolled in as exempt from asset calculations if it’s valued at $1,500 or less.

This implies that any cash value associated with the policy will not contribute to the Medicaid asset limit. Conversely, if the policy’s value surpasses this threshold, its cash value will be considered an asset. However, whether or not Medicaid will take this into account depends on your state.

If you don’t have life insurance already, whether or not you should apply for life insurance depends on your needs. Some reasons you might want to apply include:

  • You have dependents or a spouse you want to protect financially after your death.
  • You want to contribute to your own funeral costs.
  • You have a mortgage or other large debts.
  • You want a stable asset that doesn’t fluctuate financially like stocks.

Some reasons you might decide against include:

  • The premiums are too expensive (they can increase with age).
  • You don’t have dependents or a spouse.
  • You have no debt.
  • The plans in your area offer limited coverage.

Life insurance covers costs that arise after a person passes away. Neither Medicare nor Medicaid provides life insurance — they only provide medical insurance.

Medicare does cover hospice care, and you can get some death benefits from Social Security. However, if you want to get life insurance, you’ll need to purchase a separate policy from a private insurer.