Medicare Argumentative Essay

The constituent contacted the GAO asking why her father got denied Medicare. Her father is residing in California and he came to visit his family in Oregon.He needed to see a dentist, so he applied for OHP, but got denied. The constituent was informed that her father cannot receive Medicare in two states at the same

Medicare covers over 47 million Medicare Beneficiaries. This includes 39 million seniors and 8 million people under 65 receiving social services disability insurance (SSDI) payments due to permanent disabilities (Kaiser Family Foundation 2010). Medicare accounts for 12% of federal spending, 23% of national health spending, and is critical part of policy discussions related to the federal budget and the 2010 Health Reform Law (Kaiser Family Foundation 2010). Medicare’s financial problems affect the entire budget, and are largely responsible for projected increases in federal deficits (Peter G. Peterson Foundation 2010).

Some elderly, in my opinion, believe that Medicare is an insurance program that they are entitled to. During the Great Society movement in the 40's-60's, various governmental programs were designed to provide citizens entitlements to human services and welfare needs. The Medicare and Medicaid coverage was designed to provide those that do not have any means to pay for health care a way in which they could maintain their health needs - a right that the government and society has deemed every person should be entitled to; their health. So, depending on the culture, upbringing, and personal philosophy of each elderly person, the question whether they feel Medicare is an insurance program or a welfare program is difficult to answer. I would suggest coming at this question from both sides of the argument and state why elderly may view Medicare as an insurance program and why the elderly would view Medicare as a welfare program. Also, a good way to look at this question is to ask for permission to go to a local nursing home or assisted living home and interview a few residents. Ask them

As Shi & Singh explain (2013), “Medicare is essentially a generation transfer system in which current taxpayers pay for the benefits of current beneficiaries” (p. 342). Medicare covers 55 million individuals and costs 585 million dollars (Bauchner, 2015). Of those more than 55 million citizens, 9 million are younger adults with disabilities. The remaining citizens are older than 65 years (Altman & Frist, 2015). Of those receiving Medicare, 45% have four or

On 21 June 2008 your newspaper published an article about the notable Liberal MP Keith Martin. In this article, from Ottawa's Bureau Chief, Bruce Campion-Smith portrays question of whether or not Medicare should be opened to private services. I want to bring it to your kind attention that Medicare being opened to private services would not be the wisest decision for the citizens of Canada.

Medicare also does not pay for long-term care services, routine dental care and dentures, routine vision care or eyeglasses, or hearing exams and hearing aids. The deductibles are extremely high for the enrollee and their beneficiaries and there is not a limit on the annual out-of-pocket expenses that one could accrue. (Carroll L. Estes, 2013)

Medicare and Medicaid are federal government fundraising programs set in place to help elderly citizens and patients. Medicare and Medicaid are for certain patients with afflictions who cannot afford health insurance acquire some type of medical treatment without worrying about the financial burden. Due to costly health care prices and programs, Medicare and Medicaid funding have been a major threat to the US economy (Riczo, 2014). In the hopes of finding a solution to the current health care struggles pertaining to patients seeking monetary assistance “on March 23, 2010, Presi3dent Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law” (Panning, 2014,

With the creation of Medicare in 1966 in order to expand access for the elderly to the American healthcare system, the ways in which medicine and its corresponding industries were conducted were irrevocably changed. Prior to its inception, only 65% of people over 65 actually had proper health insurance, as the elderly paid three times as much for healthcare as young people (Stevens, 1998). The private medical sector had much more control over who they would treat, how much they would charge, and more; the passing of Medicare freed up the elderly to have reasonable access to healthcare as a consequence of a lifetime of paying into the system.

Medicare gives medical access to many people who would not have it otherwise. Medicare is the government’s first program associated with public health insurance. Since then the U.S. has seen Medicaid and now recently the Affordable Care Act. Essentially, these are government programs designed to ensure care for citizens. These programs expand health care. As more people are able to have health coverage, more health care services become needed. While these programs provide protection they also stimulate growth within the medical field.

Medicare is the nation’s largest health insurance program. Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if you or your spouse worked for at least ten years in Medicare-covered employment and you are 65 years old and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Medicare-covered services include hospital insurance, inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, home health care, hospice care, and medical insurance (Medicare U.S.) With such an encompassing effect on the health insurance field, Medicare provides a haven for older individuals, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who require the best medical care for whatever possible reason. The only problem with this scenario is

Medicare is one of the largest health insurance programs in the world with an annual cost of $260 billion (Nesvisky, 2015). Nesvisky stated that providing universal health insurance to the aging and the disabled, Medicare accounts for approximately 17 percent of U.S. health costs, one-eighth of the federal budget, and 2 percent of gross domestic production (2015). Medicare was introduced in 1965 and remains to this date as the single largest change in health insurance coverage throughout U.S. history (Nesvisky, 2015).

While both Medicaid and Medicare are government programs, they have separate benefits and purposes. Medicare is a solely a federal program, while Medicaid is a state program that is jointly funded by both states and the federal government. Medicare is designed to help seniors afford increased healthcare costs as they experience more health issues with age. Medicaid is meant more to help the poorer populations, regardless of age.

As I was researching the question, “What has been the impact of Medicare on the healthcare system?” there has been some good and some bad. Medicare also does a lot more than just provide U.S. citizens with healthcare.

The growing concern regarding the financial security of Medicare is one of particular interest to the nearly 72 million baby boomers that become eligible for this government-assisted, and tax-payer bolstered, program over the next two decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010), there will be a rapid increase in baby-boomers between 2010 and 2030, as the entire baby boomer population move into the 65 years and over category (p.3). Political and financial revisions must be made to ensure the security of Medicare as the numbers of individuals paying into this program are soon to be surpassed by the number of individuals drawing-off this program (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The elderly are also at a disadvantage with transportation to health care visits, picking up prescriptions, and rehabilitation services. There needs to be an establishment of access not only to primary care providers, hospitals, and rehabilitation services, but access to other aspects of the health care system for the elderly population.

Medicare is the United States' health insurance program for individuals age 65 or older. However certain people younger than age 65 can also qualify for Medicare, including those who are disabled, has permanent kidney failure or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). The program helps with the cost of health care, but it does not cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care. Many Medicare participants must also have supplemental health care coverage in order to cover these charges that are not covered as part of the Medicare program. Is Medicare the perfect program? Well Medicare is financed by a percentage of the payroll taxes paid by workers and their employers. Also this program receives another