Medicare : A Federally Administered Health Insurance Program

Over the last 8 years especially, the national spotlight has been focused on government programs, specifically Medicare and Medicaid, whether these opinions be positive or negative. Although many people believe that these governmental acts only include negative aspects, this is in fact wrong, as there are many positives. Medicare, the commonly known health insurance program for people 65 and older, has positively contributed to the American society for the past 50 years. Medicare has helped elders financially , increased the quality of care we give to elders, and provided more jobs throughout its existence.

The essential target of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) was to furnish seniors in the United States with moderate scope for their physician endorsed solutions through the new Medicare Part D professionally prescribed medication advantage. After the MMA was implemented—however before Part D was actualized—there was a disagreement about the cost of the program. In March 2004, the Medicare Chief Actuary affirmed before the House Ways and Means Committee of United States Congress that he was requested by the (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) CMS Administrator to smother his assessments of the ten-year cost of the program, which were considerably more noteworthy than unique Congressional Budget

The Social Security Act of 1965 established Medicare and Medicaid which are health insurance programs for the poor and elderly people of the United States. It is funded by a tax on the earnings of employees and contributions by the employers. “It is now broadly apparent that those who opposed Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965 were wrong in their fears…” (Nicholas Kristof  “The Wrong Side of History”).

Medicare Part D Drug Plan was created by Congress in 2003 to aid the elderly, disabled, and sick persons in affording their medication. Coverage for the drug plan went into affect January 1, 2006. This plan was called the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Cassel, 2005). The final bill that passed, was influenced by drug-company and health insurance lobbyists and focused mainly on the needs of those industries instead of the seniors it was meant to serve (Slaughter, 2006). These plans are operated by insurance companies and some private companies that have been approved by Medicare. Part D is optional only if a person carries health insurance that includes prescription coverage. If at retirement

On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-173).  This landmark legislation provides seniors and individuals with disabilities with a prescription drug benefit, more choices, and better benefits under Medicare. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history. The MMA was signed by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003, after passing in Congress by a close margin. One month later, the ten-year cost estimate was boosted to $534 billion, up more than $100 billion over the figure presented by the Bush administration

Thus, in 1965, Nickitas, Middaugh, and Aries (2016) narrated the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, proposed by President Johnson, to provide for the medical needs of the elderly and the indigent population. At the present, although Medicare limits coverage to the disabled and older adults (65 and older), Nickitas et al. (2016) declared that Medicare is becoming the model of universal health coverage given the nature and the high number of the population it serves. However, Cubanski and Neuman (2017) claimed that the biggest future challenge for Medicare would be the potentially increased expenditures coming from the numerous retiring baby boomers.

The idea of a national healthcare plan was first introduced in 1945 by President Harry Truman. Although President Truman was unsuccessful in creating a government administered healthcare program, he was successful in bringing attention to the issue of healthcare in the United States. In 1965 the United States’ Congress passed a bill approving the Medicare program. This program was designed to allow the country to provide elderly citizens access to affordable medical care. This bill was signed into law a few days later by the 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson. After signing this bill President Johnson stated, “We marvel not simply at the passage of this bill, but that it took so many years to pass it.”(Forty Years of Medicare 1). Finally, twenty years after President Truman first proposed a

On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into existence the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (CMS, 2003). This Act over the years is intended to provide prescription drug benefits to seniors. It will also provide subsidies to insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, and would allow private plans to compete with Medicare (CMS, 2003).

Since its establishment in 1965 we have seen Medicare change as people’s needs change however being a federal program these changes do have an incredible amount of lag time. One of the first major changes to Medicare occurred in 1972 when President Nixon signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972 which extended coverage to individuals under age 65 with long-term disabilities, expanded benefits to include some chiropractic services and speech and physical therapy. During this time we see the American public growing tired of the Vietnam Conflict and lack of support and care for those returning Marines and soldiers with severe disabilities. As the protests escalate and the peace initiatives fail a key piece of legislation is signed showing government support and a willingness to extend health care benefits to this growing and vocal population of veterans (The Vietnam War, 1999). Also included in this Amendment is the encouragement of the use of Health Maintenance Organizations, President Nixon’s administration caught in the scandal of Watergate and pending hearings appeased the left and proposed the HMO Act, which Congress passed in 1973 (Phillips, 2003).

What is Medicare? President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965. When Medicare first began, it had two parts, Part A and Part B. Medicare Part A provides hospitalization coverage to all citizens age 65 and older. It helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, including critical access hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities. It also helps cover hospice care and some home health care. Beneficiaries must meet certain conditions to get these benefits. Most people do not have to pay a premium for this service because they or their spouse has already paid for coverage through payroll taxes. Most beneficiaries over age 65 don’t pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part A coverage if they or their spouse paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years while working (Mack, 2016). Most Medicare beneficiaries do not have to pay Medicare premiums on Part A because of their employment Medicare tax history (Mack,

One of the problems of Medicare itself is that it doesn't cover the costs of prescription drugs for its members; this has led to one of the major reasons that the program is in danger. A great deal of personal healthcare relies on the use of drugs, and since the program doesn't cover these costs, the individual must bear them. According to the AARP, in 1999 out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs were estimated to be $450 per person each year (AARP). Obviously, members have joined the program to defray their medical costs, but these figures indicate that they still have large costs to pay. The other problem faced by the Medicare program is that it is also suffering from a lack of funds. According to Governor George W. Bush, the financial health of Medicare is in serious jeopardy and might face deficit as soon as 2010 (Bush). As a result of these major problems, one might wonder why the plan isn't scrapped for another program; well according to polls done by the Public Agenda, an Internet public policy site, American citizens are strongly in favor of Medicare, and would rather see the problems ironed out (Public Agenda). Therefore it is necessary to come up with a solution, so that the Medicare program remains intact.

Medicare is a government funded program within the United States that provides health insurance to individuals who are sixty five years and older, regardless of income or medical history, those that have end-stage renal disease, and/or individuals who are under sixty five years old and have disabilities for which they are entitled to Social Security benefits. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2015), which operates both Medicare and Medicaid, states that Medicare provides coverage for over 55 million

President Lyndon Johnson, by restricting eligibility to the elderly, limiting hospital care and connecting it to Social Security, Medicare became a viable plan. Moving the concentration of the debate to the aged community a grass roots support of seniors pushed the agenda into the national spotlight. An “eldercare plan was introduced by the AMA of a voluntary insurance was broader benefits. The government countered expanding it proposal to include physician service, which intern became Medicare and Medicaid. Political concessions were made with doctors, and hospitals. The Part A comprehensive health insurance and Part B voluntary physician insurance. President Johnson finally signed it into law in 1965 as part of the “Great Society Legislation” (Oberlander, 2015)(Palmer,

The concept of Medicare and Medicaid involves the federal government paying back physicians for taking care of the retirees, aged and the impoverished; this bill was passed in 1965. Although both Medicare and Medicaid started minutely to cover hospital and physician’s services; sporadically, the expenditure allocated to Medicare and Medicaid began to shoot up with time.

Medicare was formed in 1965 when individuals over 65 found it almost unfeasible to get private health insurance coverage. Medicare has made entrée to health care a common basic right for Americans 65 years or older. This has helped progress the health and