Medicare Challenges

Money plays a huge role in access, therefore it is a vital issue to discuss. Within the current system, lack of money results in lack of health care, which leaves thousands of people without any health care coverage. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of people paying for health insurance increased 30%, however income only raised 3% (Health Care Problems). Adequate income is a necessity and unfortunately that is not present. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average annual premium across the country is $16,000. Currently, the average annual income in the United States is $51,107. Mint Money Management suggests that about 4-6% of one’s total income should be spent on insurance, including life, disability, and health insurance. However, the averages in the United States show that the average person spends about 31% of their income on health insurance, which is not financially beneficial. When this rise in health insurance is not parallel to the inflation of income, innocent people are left without a method to achieve health care. There is a program for those who can’t afford health insurance out of pocket nor have access to it, and that is called Medicaid. Issues still exist with the program. There is only so much funding, which leaves many still uninsured. Additionally, people with Medicaid have difficulty

Medicare and Medicaid are programs that have been developed to assist Americans in attainment of quality health care. Both programs were established in 1965 and are federally supported to provide health care coverage to vulnerable populations such as the elderly, the disabled, and people with low incomes. Both Medicare and Medicaid are federally mandated and determine coverage under each program; both are run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency ("What is Medicare? What is Medicaid?” 2008).

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of two federally and/or state funded programs. The programs that will be discussed are Medicare and Medicaid. In this paper will be information about who receives Medicaid/Medicare, the services offered by these programs, and those long term services that are not.

Medicaid has help many qualified Americans who were historically unable to access health care. At the same time, it has raised questions and controversies as how efficient is the plan overall. Various research studies were conducted and contradicting results were presented. According to Paradise and Garfield (2013), some said that having no coverage at all is better that having a Medicaid coverage. On the other hand, some expressed that Medicaid paved a way to improved health due to increased access to services that provides prevention of diseases, health maintenance, and effective treatment (Paradise & Garfield, 2013). As for me I am in favor of the later, health care access for all. It comes down to equitable distribution of resources

Throughout the early 1980’s and 1990’s the Federal Medicaid program was challenged by rapidly rising Medicaid program costs and an increasing number of uninsured population. One of the primary reasons for the overall increase in healthcare costs is the

In 2010, the President of the United States signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law (Luther & Hart, 2014). As written, the PPACA will be the most extensive change in the financing and provision of healthcare in 50 years (Luther & Hart, 2014). The stated purposes of the legislation are to decrease the number of medically uninsured people as well as decrease the cost of insurance and healthcare for those already insured (Shi & Singh, 2015). Medicaid expansion is significant element of the PPACA and is designed to provide health insurance to the lower income population (Vincent & Reed, 2014). The purpose of this paper

Medicare is one of the most widely acknowledged sources of health insurance coverage in the United States. It is often complemented by Medicaid, a similar health welfare program that includes children and the poor. Many Medicare beneficiaries are "dual eligibles" who use Medicaid to extend comprehensive inpatient and outpatient health care coverage, especially for prescription drugs, diagnostic and preventive care, and eyeglasses which fall outside of Medicare. Medicaid can also supplement Medicare deductibles, premiums, and up to 20% of uncovered charges (Goodman, 1991).

In this research paper it will identify how Medicaid came about and what Medicaid used for, the different between Medicare and Medicaid, the benefits and disadvantage in the use of Medicaid. Medicaid is a state administrated program that provides medical support for a broad range of people. Medicaid was established in 1965 through the Social Security Act, which was an act to provide for the general welfare by creating a system of senior citizen benefits as well as low income people not all but limited to and by enabling that many states to make more acceptable provision for aged people, blind, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, and public health. Medicaid program was one of many programs created to

Suitable health care would not be possible for the elderly population in America without the assistance of Medicare Part A. Medicare did not come about easily. Currently Medicare spending is more than what is being collected, questioning future solvency. There are many challenges with sustaining Medicare into the future. Medicare’s past struggles, present outcomes, and future challenges confirm that a national health plan is ever evolving to meet the needs of the current population and spending inflation.

Since 1965, Medicare has been attempting to provide low cost, guaranteed access to much needed healthcare for senior citizens over the age of 65 and other age groups that suffer from disabilities and terminal diseases. These people represent some of the most vulnerable population groups in the United States. Most do not work, and rely on Medicare to provide them the access to healthcare they need. Unlike privatized health insurance companies, Medicare is a social insurance program that is paid for through federal mandates and tax payer funds. Billions of dollars are spent annually on over 50 million Americans in need (Alonso-Zaldivar 1). The care structure itself is broken into several main parts: Medicare Part A covers hospital costs, Part B cover most outpatient care costs, and Part C and D cover prescription drug costs through dealing with other private insurance. Yet, the upcoming election in November is threatening to change and alter the structure. Each candidate has his own plan to deal with Medicare; both are trying to reign in the costs of operating Medicare, but with some elements being obviously more beneficial for Medicare recipients than others.

The United States (US) is distinguished for its medical advances, leading technology and astonishing discoveries in various science fields. These advancements in the health care ground have impacted and improved the health care delivery of several in the nation. The US is found among the wealthiest, most developed countries around the world; however, it is the only developed country that fails to provide universal health care to its people. Health care in the US is described as fragmented, inaccessible, and expensive. Diebel (2015) compared the health system in the US to other nations and supported that it is extremely overpriced, yet the end result does not always support its cost. Lack of coverage, high copayments plus deductibles force Americans to postpone seeking medical attention resulting in undiagnosed health conditions and complications of current diseases. In 2010, under President Obama’s mandate, Americans witnessed the birth of a controversial legislation, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The goal of the PPACA is to improve just about every aspect of the system such the health of Americans, health care access and quality, while reversing the health care expenditure (Hahn and Sheingold, 2014). The aim of this paper is to discuss the PPACA and the Medicaid Expansion under the PPACA including its risks and benefits; as well as, the impact of the expansion in the healthcare delivery

One of this health care’s programs objective is to limit the number of uninsured (Shi & Singh, 2015). This controversial healthcare plan incorporates a privately funded insurance which is paid for through employment and solely by the patient and a publicly funded insurance by the government. Medicare is provided for senior citizens 65 and older, and Medicaid is provided for low income citizens. The federal government and state government both partake in the funding of Medicaid. Although insurance is provided to the low income through Medicaid, the United States continues to suffer from cost escalation spending 17.1 percent of GDP on healthcare in 2013, a 50 percent more than the second nation (Commonwealth, n.d.) The high cost and limited coverage continues to spark up the conversation for a

The article summarizes on how the Medicaid has expanded to the state that it wasn’t non-existent such as New York through the provision of the statistics of the beneficiaries. The author focuses on the measurement of the quality of the Medicaid which deteriorates at an alarming rate leading to a greater future concern on the medical coverage on the patients in the Medicaid program. The article also emphasizes on the reports by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services which presented poor quality of the services offered as a result of the Medicaid. For instance, the existence of low- birth weight babies, patient’s satisfaction and body mass indexes. The authors further states that, for the future success of the Medicaid on the poor and the sick, there should be a balance on the quality and financial savings and the close monitor of the adverse impacts which can arise as a result of lack of proper procedures in the Medicaid program. Therefore,

There are some problems that must be addressed in the expansion of the Medicaid policy to include; social, economic, ethical, legal and political. First, the social impact of having health insurance removes the burden off of parents, people with chronic diseases, children and the disabled. If access to health insurance is unavailable our nation’s health care costs will continue to rise,

Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. Certain people younger than age 65 can qualify for Medicare, too, including those with disabilities and those who have permanent kidney failure. There are several changes for Medicare enrollees in 2017. The average increase is more than $4/month, and average premiums will be about $109/month for about 70 percent of enrollees. But the exact amount they’ll pay will vary depending on the dollar amount of the cost of living adjustment on their Social Security checks.