The Medicare And Retirement Provide Health Insurance For Senior Citizens And Other Medicare Recipients

“UnitedHealthcare provides network-based health care benefits for a full spectrum of customers in the health benefits market” such as students and individuals; sole proprietorships to multi-site, large national employers; promotion of health benefits to Medicare retirees and beneficiaries; and provides Medicaid and community programs (UnitedHealthcare, 2010). UnitedHealth Group 2012 revenue was $11.3 billion. The company is continuously growing through various mergers and acquisitions within the US and Europe, increasing members and revenues (Keepournhspublic, n. d.).

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

According to Barton (2010) Long-term Care “emphasized continuous care over a period of at least 90 days for a range of acute and chronic conditions. Regardless of the length of time (i.e., from weeks to years), LTC is an array of services provided in a range of settings to people who have lost some capacity for independence because of an injury, a chronic illness, or a condition” (pg. 349). This is the description of someone who may have been in a debilitating car accident, an elderly person with Alzheimer’s and dementia, a person diagnosed with chronic mental illness, and individuals who are developmentally delayed or “disabled.” People who are placed in these type of long-term care facilities are usually screened using two different

Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage. It’s the newest part in Medicare. It adds prescription drug coverage to original Medicare, some Medicare cost plans, some Medicare PPS plans, and Medicare Medical Savings plans. Beneficiaries choose the drug plan and pay a monthly premium.

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

Medicare and Medicaid information can be overwhelming and confusing to both the consumer and the healthcare professional. The information highway known as the World Wide Web (WWW) can provide the answers to questions about these government benefits, but getting clear, informative and accurate knowledge can be overwhelming. O’Sullivan (2011) identified the WWW as “a primary repository for health information for the medically naïve yet technically savvy healthcare consumer.” One internet website that provides information about Medicare and Medicaid is CMS.gov ("Cms.gov centers for”). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the United States agency that administers Medicare,

To attract Medicare patients, hospital must be contracted with Medicare. Hospital must also be contracted with private health insurance companies that provide Medicare Part A or Part B benefits. As per Kaiser Family Foundation, there are more than 55.5 million Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. and Texas has more than 3 million. Hospital should have regular contact with senior citizens and can be made attractive to Medicare patients by offering sessions about healthy life style choices. Also offer regular disease management sessions, exercise group and organize social activities such as trips to mall, museums. Seniors should also be encouraged to take tour of the hospital.

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.

It has been recognized that ever since its passage into law the Affordable Care Act frequently known as Obamacare has and will continue to attract criticism and scrutiny. This is the America`s major and mainly well-liked social indemnity programs. Despite the fact the Affordable Care Act is a highly multifaceted piece of legislation featuring many regulatory and intergovernmental provisions meant to deal with lack of health insurance coverage affecting a variety of diverse groups, Medicare and social security are much more focused programs providing benefits primarily to the aged. Social security and Medicare were in the beginning implemented more without difficulty and with a little of bipartisan support, because in 1935 and 1965 democrats

Medicare is a federally administered health insurance program that was started in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, taking effect in 1966. The Medicare program was aimed at aiding the high percentage of elderly individuals who were without health insurance coverage and thus improve their health. Originally, Medicare provided health insurance coverage for retirees and their spouses 65 years and older. However, in 1972 Richard Nixon signed the first change to Medicare, allowing for certain disabled persons under the age of 65 to participate in the program. Additionally, Nixon’s changes allowed anybody diagnosed with kidney failure who required dialysis or an organ transplant to receive coverage under the program.

The Commonwealth Fund, New York. (2006). US Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. Retrieved from US Me

United Healthcare assesses that it services approximately 70 million Americans . Its entire system spans 676,287 physicians and health care professionals, 80,000 dentists and 5,190 hospitals, whilst their pharmaceutical management provides more affordable drugs to 13 million people.

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health care company, and a worldwide leader in helping people live healthier lives and taking the necessary steps in making the health system work better for everyone. The UnitedHealth group serves more than 85 million individuals worldwide with health benefits and services. In 2012, they produced revenues of $110.6 billion and were ranked number 17 in the Fortune 500. The economic and political segments would rank the highest in influencing the UnitedHealth Group.

In all of the U.S, United Healthcare is the only health carrier that has been working towards improving the effectiveness as well as quality of healthcare for people belonging to all the various nations. This organization has been trying to make the medicines more accessible to the people who need them; they have been trying to implement the services that could be used by the masses not only in terms of cheaper costs but better accessibility as well.

Under this approach, as an example, United averages on any given day about 27,000 members in an inpatient setting and another 14,000 members receiving services in a skilled nursing facility. These members are managed by 2,000 clinical employees working with attending physicians to achieve optimal quality outcomes and having proper discharge plans in place when members leave the facilities in order to prevent unnecessary readmissions. United also expects to make one million house calls and home visits for its Medicare members aimed at enhancing adherence in care plans and closing care gaps.