Medicare Crisis

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 has had many legislative changes to modernize the program since it was first signed into law. Medicare has assisted many retirees from a financial disaster by providing benefits during a healthcare crisis. The prescription drug program has ensured seniors have access to the medications they require. Medicare has also provided care to the disabled that are under age 65. This national social healthcare program has also come under fire politically because of the extremely high cost of the program.

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.

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

Medicare, which was first enacted by Congress in 1965, is a popular, yet failing, program because of a rapidly increasing population of retirees and their increasing costs; despite program’s flaws, Medicare is difficult to change because of the political influence of the elderly, who approve of the benefits they receive from the program. Medicare provides health benefits to citizens who are eligible for social security benefits(Fiorina, Peterson, Johnson & Mayer 2009). The program is embraced by the public, but Medicare’s increasing cost makes it difficult to sustain. Due to its popularity, the program is also very difficult to change, but without limitations the program will continue to decline in the future.

Medicare was created in 1965 for individuals who were over the age of 65 that found it impossible to find affordable healthcare. The creation of Medicare has given access to healthcare to all Americans once they reached the age of 65. This program was created in the era of limited hospital access so a big worry they had was that individuals would have this healthcare but not be able to receive care fast enough (National Academy of Social Insurance, 2001).

Medicare, enacted on 1965 is a government funded health insurance program which covers the elderly, the disabled and people with end stage renal diseases. With Medicare covering specifically the elderly and the disabled, the cost is usually on the higher side. Medicare has been in action since the last 50 years. Many even approve of expanding Medicare instead of ACA, as Medicare is government funded while ACA has much commercial involvement. Medicare is heavily subsidized and is universally

Medicare is America’s largest health insurance program for the men and women over the age of 65 or with certain disabilities. For many Americans, this a huge part of how they can afford medications, doctor visits and other medical expenses. In recent years the number of Medicare enrollees has doubled (NASI, 2015). The “Baby Boomers”, people born from 1946-1965, is the largest generation within America with roughly 75 million Americans. This generation of Americans are all turning 65 around the same time and enrolling into this medical program. With the amount of new enrollees the total spending for Medicare will rise from 3.6% of the nations GDP to 5.1% by 2030, when the youngest of the baby boomer generation will be 65 (NASI, 2015). Even

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).

What is Medicare insurance? Medicare is a federal health program for an individual between the age 65 and older. Medicare has also helped certain younger people who suffer from some type of disability and also help an individual with kidney failure and need to place on a dialysis machine or need an organ transplant. Medicare insurance was created in the year 1965 it was signed by president Lyndon b, Johnson to help those Americans at the age of 65 who was not covered by health insurance received some types of insurance this insurance will be called Medicare. In the year 1972, Medicare starts to expand their program to people with disability and also patient suffering from kidney failure that required dialysis or needed an organ transplant to save their life. Medicare was designed to give the American people a choice how they want to manage their care that why Medicare insurance created two separate insurance called Type A and Type B. The insurance benefit of Type A generalized coverage, hospital care, skills nurse facility care, nursing home, hospice, home health service. The Medicare insurance of type B coverage service for supplies needed for diagnosis or treating a patient and also coverage preventive & screening for a patient that want to check for potential illness, for example, Mammogram & HIV screening. The insurance benefit of Type B cover ambulance service, inpatient and outpatient service, partial hospitalization, laboratory test and limited outpatient

Government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid are designed to provide assistance to individuals outside of what the market provides. For instance, Medicare provides coverage to over sixty-million elderly and disable individuals in the United States (Medicare, 2015). One advantage of Medicare is that Part D, also know as the “doughnut hole”, is expected to decrease by 2020. In short, this is “where beneficiaries had to pay 100% of their costs until they reached the catastrophic coverage level” (Medicare, 2015). On the other hand, Medicare does not cover hearing aids, vision, or dental services; nor does it pay for “long term services and support such as extended stays in a nursing home” (Medicare, 2015). This is extremely counterproductive

It has come to my attention that not everyone is aware of Medicare and its advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, I would like to educate all the healthcare careerists to understand the concept of Medicare. Medicare is a type of insurance for the people of age 65 or older and also for the people with permanent disabilities and diseases. This program was established in 1965 under Title 18f the Social Security Act and was made available to all eligible people as a health insurance regardless of their status or income. According to “A Primer on Medicare”, In 2015 Medicare provided health insurance coverage to 55 million people: 46 million people ages 65 and older and 9 million people with permanent disabilities who are under age

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.

Due to the upcoming presidential election, the two major political parties, and their candidates, have been focusing on the primary problems that the nation will face. Chief among those problems is the future of Medicare, the national health-insurance plan. Medicare was enacted in 1965, under the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, in order to provide health insurance for retired citizens and the disabled (Ryan). The Medicare program covers most people aged 65 or older, as well as handicapped people who enroll in the program, and consists of two health plans: a hospital insurance plan (part A) and a medical insurance plan (part B) (Marmor 22). Before Medicare, many Americans didn't have health

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.