Medicare Impact On Health Care

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 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had mame dramatic changes in the field of the health care system, especially in Medicare, that will seriously take effect in American seniors. Indeed, much of the health law’s new spending is financed by spending reductions in the Medicare program. In addition to the provider payment reductions, Obamacare significantly reduces payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans by an estimated $156 billion from 2013 to 2022.( Elmendorf, letter to Speaker Boehner). About 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in MA plans, a system of regulated and private plans competing against each other as an alternative to traditional Medicare. MA plans are attractive to beneficiaries because they offer more generous and comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare by capping out-of-pocket costs and offering drug coverage to a rasonable

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

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people with certain disabilities, end stage renal disease, and for those who are over the age of 65. There are four different parts to Medicare, part A, part B, part C, and part D. Medicare Part A, also known as hospital insurance, covers inpatient hospital stays, care in nursing facilities, hospice care, and some in home health care. Part B is often referred to as medical insurance; it covers certain doctors’ services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventative care services. Medicare Part C, otherwise known as Medicare advantage plan is offered by a private

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.

Access to Medicare services to the implementation of Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, some say that some will have difficulty finding doctors to accept new Medicare patients and to think that the service provided to Medicare beneficiaries will decline is also a myth. Looking at the findings from the 2011 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Access to Care research files, one can see the care given to Medicare beneficiaries. In 2011, 96.7 percent of surveyed Medicare beneficiaries claimed that they were satisfied with the quality of care given, which is an increase from 95.1 percent, just ten years ago (CMS, 2012). Giving their doctors good to excellent ratings for the services they provided to them while in their care. These beneficiaries are those who have private health insurance and also expect access to healthcare when Obamacare is implemented next year. But Medicare is gearing up to keep with the coming changes with plans to help beneficiaries. First thing beneficiaries should know is that Medicare is protected, so beneficiaries have the same coverage they had this year, regardless if it’s traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage Plan. Medicare now covers certain preventive services, like mammograms or colonoscopies, without charging you for the Part B coinsurance or deductible, to include free wellness visits (Medicare, 2013). This is not the only good news; Obamacare ensures Medicare protection for another 12-year through 2029. Doctors will see more support from CMS programs through new initiatives and resources to support care coordination (Medicare,

Medicaid and Medicare are government-sponsored healthcare programs in the U.S. The programs differ in terms of how they are governed and funded, as well as in terms of who they cover. Medicare is an insurance program that primarily covers seniors ages 65 and older and disabled individuals who qualify for Social Security, while Medicaid is an assistance program that covers low- to no-income families and individuals. Some may be eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, depending on their circumstances. Under the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., "Obamacare"), 26 states and the District of Columbia have recently expanded Medicaid, thus enabling many more to enroll in the program.

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 are getting people more improved and secured benefits every year, and Medicare’s long-term sustainability is stronger as a result of performances, new tools, resources to lessens waste and fraudulence, and a decrease growth in Medicare costs. These significant changes will produce savings for the taxpayers and help to prolong the life of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. These changes will also assist people with Medicare by keeping their premiums and cost sharing lesser than under the law before. , Medicare beneficiaries under the Affordable Care Act will enjoy improved quality care, better access to care, and a more innovative care delivery system that will improve outcomes and reduce

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

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

Willbur Cohen secretary of health, education and welfare department said that he felt that medicare would “precipitate an inflationary crisis.” He was right. The physicians and hospitals began to spend a lot of money on things like equipment. Some of the obstacles that the government has faced in the beginning and are still facing currently are medicare costs. “Some say that medicare part A that is financed by payroll taxes is said to become bankrupt by 2001.”(Medicare: past, present and future) Medicare part B doesn’t have to worry about these issues because it is funded by the federal government, but it does face another obstacle that is the federal budget is being used drastically to fund medicare and does not leave much left funds for other

compromise between Democrats and Republicans which account for Part A and Part B of Medicare. Democrats supported hospital in patient coverage which is part A and Republicans supported outpatient coverage which is Part B. Medicare was created for citizens age 65 and older no matter what that citizen income or medical history, but by 1972 they rewrote the criteria of coverage by allowing citizens under the age of 65 with disabilities to qualify for Medicare. Medicare did not initially include prescription drug benefits. By 2003 Medicare have added Part D through private firms. As time passed Medicare started requiring the consumers to pay about $310 on their prescription drug costs for baseline deductible, and the plan will cover up to 78% of

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

I appreciate this information on improvements to Medicare. It is encouraging to hear the efforts in quality improvement through the ACA provisions – better care coordination, payment incentives for performance and quality outcomes, and increased patient satisfaction through the transparency measures. On the part of Medicare beneficiaries, I agree with the program reform of combining the Medicare Part A and B benefit plan. Trivedi (2017) declared that 17% of the health care costs are out of pocket costs for the consumers. Additionally, Trivedi (2017) affirmed that charges for copays tend to be higher than the insurers’ cost, allotting expensive medical bills to clients. As for Medicare patients, while the Part A is available to eligible