I've had a number of friends age 50 and above in this middle-age "no man's land" - one guy was a near cripple for almost a decade with a bad hip joint - had to wait until he was 65 before he could get it taken care of via Medicare.  Had it been available to him at that time, he may have been eligible for treatment under the Medicaid provisions or a policy offered through the exchanges of the AHA.