Yes, Medicare covers dialysis for people with permanent kidney failure, and it covers dialysis for acute kidney injury too.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies That same kidney failure diagnosis can also put you on Medicare at any age, even under 65, as long as you meet the program's Social Security work-record test.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease If you or a parent just started dialysis, that is the answer to the money question that comes fast.
In This Guide
- Key Takeaways
- What Does Medicare Cover for Dialysis?
- Does Medicare Cover the Full Cost of Dialysis?
- Kidney Failure Can Qualify You for Medicare at Any Age
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Learn More
What Does Medicare Cover for Dialysis?
Dialysis is expensive and ongoing, so what Medicare pays for matters a lot. Part B treats maintenance dialysis as a covered benefit, not a maze of exceptions. Under Part B, Medicare covers your outpatient maintenance dialysis and the doctors' services tied to it at a Medicare-certified dialysis facility, and that coverage reaches dialysis for acute kidney injury as well as for permanent kidney failure.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies If you have ESRD, Medicare generally covers three hemodialysis treatments (or the peritoneal dialysis equivalent) each week.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies
If you do dialysis at home, Part B covers that too, along with the training you and the person helping you need to do it safely, which a Medicare-certified home dialysis training facility has to provide. It also covers the home dialysis equipment, the supplies, and the drugs used in your dialysis, plus lab tests, home support services from your dialysis facility, and nursing, social work, and dietitian services.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies Our guide on whether Medicare covers home dialysis goes deeper on the equipment, the training, and when that coverage can start.
So whether your treatments happen at a clinic several times a week or at your own kitchen table, the same Part B benefit is doing the work. What changes is the setting, not whether you're covered.
One thing to get right at sign-up: if you have Original Medicare, you need both Part A and Part B to get the full benefits available for people with ESRD.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies Part A is premium-free for most people and Part B is not, so it can be tempting to take Part A alone. Don't. Outpatient dialysis, the treatment you will actually be getting several times a week, is a Part B benefit, so Part A by itself leaves the bulk of your care uncovered.
Does Medicare Cover the Full Cost of Dialysis?
No, and the gap is worth planning for. Part B works on a deductible-then-coinsurance model. First you meet the annual Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles After that, you generally pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for your outpatient dialysis, the related doctors' services, and home dialysis training, and Medicare covers the rest.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease That 20% keeps applying, because dialysis is a standing treatment rather than a one-time procedure.
A few limits catch families out:
- Some things are simply not covered. Medicare doesn't pay for paid dialysis aides to help you with home dialysis, for any lost pay to you or the person helping you during home dialysis training, for a place to stay during your treatment, or for blood or packed red blood cells for home dialysis unless it comes as part of a doctors' service.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies
- Rides are conditional. Part B covers ambulance service from your home to and from the nearest dialysis facility only when traveling in any other vehicle could endanger your health.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies It is not a standing benefit for getting to appointments.
- A Medicare Advantage plan changes the math. If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan rather than Original Medicare, what you pay may be different.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies Our guide on original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage walks through how those differ.
There is one setting where the math changes entirely. If you're admitted to a hospital as an inpatient and get dialysis during that stay, that falls under Part A (Hospital Insurance) instead of Part B.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies Part A has its own inpatient deductible, $1,736 per benefit period in 2026, rather than the 20% Part B coinsurance.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles
A Medigap policy is one way to cover that recurring 20%, with one large caveat if dialysis is what got you onto Medicare early. If you're under 65 and have Medicare because of kidney failure or a disability, you might not be able to buy a Medigap policy until you turn 65, because federal law generally does not require insurance companies to sell Medigap to people under 65. Some states do require or allow it, so check with your State Insurance Department about what rights you have where you live.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Get ready to buy. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy
Kidney Failure Can Qualify You for Medicare at Any Age
Most people reach Medicare at 65. Kidney failure is one of the ways in earlier. There is no age test and no income test for ESRD-based Medicare, so someone in their 40s whose kidneys have failed can qualify for the same program a 70-year-old uses.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease
It is not automatic, though, and the condition that catches people is a work record. To get Medicare on the basis of kidney failure you have to be insured under Social Security: you need to have worked the required amount of time under Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, or as a government employee, or already be getting or be eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits, or be the spouse or dependent child of someone who is.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease A dialysis patient with no qualifying work record of their own, and no spouse or parent to claim through, is not covered by this route, and should ask the dialysis center's social worker about Medicaid instead.
When that coverage actually starts, and how it lines up with any job-based insurance you already have, follows its own set of rules. Coverage usually begins the first day of the fourth month of dialysis, and joining a home dialysis training program during those first three months can move it up to the first month.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease Our guide on Medicare and kidney disease covers that timing and the 30-month coordination period with employer plans in detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Medicare cover dialysis?
Yes. Part B is the part that pays for routine dialysis, whether you get it at a facility or at home; Part A steps in only when you are dialyzed as an admitted hospital inpatient. The benefit covers dialysis for End-Stage Renal Disease and also dialysis treatments for acute kidney injury.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies
How much does dialysis cost with Medicare?
Under Part B, you pay the annual deductible ($283 in 2026) and then generally 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for your outpatient treatments and the related doctors' services, with Medicare covering the rest.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles Inpatient dialysis instead runs through the Part A deductible ($1,736 per benefit period in 2026).Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan, what you pay may be different.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies
Do I need both Part A and Part B for dialysis?
With Original Medicare, yes. Medicare states that you need both Part A and Part B to get the full benefits available for people with ESRD.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies Because outpatient dialysis is a Part B benefit, taking premium-free Part A alone would leave the treatments you get several times a week uncovered.
Does Medicare cover home dialysis?
Yes. Part B covers home dialysis the same way it covers in-facility dialysis, and it also covers the training you and the person helping you need, which must come from a Medicare-certified home dialysis training facility, plus the home dialysis machine, the supplies, and the drugs involved.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies It does not cover a paid aide to help you dialyze at home, or lost pay while you train.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Dialysis Supplies & Services Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/dialysis-services-supplies Our home dialysis guide covers the earlier coverage start date that home dialysis training can unlock.
Can I get Medicare for kidney failure if I'm under 65?
You can, if you're insured under Social Security. Permanent kidney failure qualifies you for Medicare at any age, with no age or income test, but it still requires the Social Security work record, either your own or that of a spouse or parent you claim through.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 15, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/end-stage-renal-disease One thing to plan for: under 65, you might not be able to buy a Medigap policy to cover your 20% share until you turn 65, since federal law generally does not require insurers to sell it to people under 65, though some states do offer it.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Get ready to buy. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/ready-to-buy The timing of when coverage begins has its own rules, which our Medicare and kidney disease guide walks through.
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