You’re eligible for Medicare if your current or former spouse has worked in the United States and paid taxes for at least 10 years. Whether or not you’ll pay a premium for Part A depends on a few more factors.

Original Medicare includes Part A, which is hospital insurance, and Part B, which is medical insurance. Once you qualify for Part A, you can also sign up for Part B.

If you’re married or were married to someone who meets the eligibility criteria, you should still qualify for Original Medicare, even if you don’t meet the requirements yourself. That said, depending on some criteria, you may have to pay a premium for Part A.

Read to learn how you can qualify for Medicare after divorcing a beneficiary spouse and what you need to know about potential costs.

Generally, you’re eligible for Medicare if you’re over 65 or younger and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as long as you’ve worked in the United States and paid taxes for at least 10 years.

However, if you’re divorced and ineligible for Medicare, you may still qualify for Medicare through your former spouse’s eligibility, provided your marriage lasted at least 10 years.

Similarly, if you’re widowed, you can qualify for your deceased spouse’s Medicare if you are currently single, were married for at least 9 months before their passing, and they qualified for Social Security benefits.

If you were married to your beneficiary spouse for at least 10 years, you’re also eligible for Medicare.

However, most people don’t pay a premium for Part A. Whether you’ll have to pay it depends on your former spouse’s work and tax history as well as a few other factors.

You can receive Medicare Part A without any cost at the age of 65 based on your former spouse’s work history if you fulfill these requirements:

  • Your marriage lasted a minimum of 10 years.
  • You’re currently not married.
  • Your former spouse is at least 62 years old and qualifies for Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits.
  • You qualify for Social Security benefits through your former spouse’s work record, even if you haven’t applied for them yet.

If your former spouse has passed away, you may still be eligible for premium-free Part A as a divorced surviving spouse if:

  • You’re 65 years old or older, or you’re younger and meet disability eligibility criteria.
  • Your marriage lasted at least 10 years.
  • You’re currently unmarried.
  • Your former spouse had sufficient work history under Social Security or in a Medicare-covered government job.

If you don’t meet these criteria, you can still get Part A by paying a monthly premium during specific enrollment periods. Even if eligible through your former spouse, you must enroll separately.

Even with premium-free Part A, you’ll still have to meet a deductible before you get coverage. In 2025, this is $1,676.

Once you’re eligible for Part A based on your former spouse’s eligibility, you are then eligible to purchase Medicare Part B (medical insurance) for a monthly premium, which in 2025 starts at $185.

You then also have the option of signing up for Medicare Advantage (Part C), which is an alternative to Original Medicare (parts A and B), and for Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs. The costs of these privately run plans vary by plan.

As with Part A, each spouse must enroll and pay for their own Medicare Part B, C, or D plan.

Original Medicare consists of parts A and B. If you’re divorced from someone who meets the eligibility criteria, you should still qualify for Original Medicare as long as your marriage lasted 10 years, even if you don’t meet the requirements yourself.

However, depending on how your former spouse qualifies for Medicare, you might need to pay a premium for Part A. After obtaining Part A, you can enroll in the other parts of Medicare.