Medicare

Examples of Medicare in the following topics:

• Aging and Wealth

  • In addition to Social Security, the other primary social support for the American elderly is Medicare.
  • Medicare is a social insurance program that provides health care for American citizens over the age of 65.
  • Medicare subsidizes hospital visits, doctors' appointments, and prescription drugs.
  • Medicare faces even more dire financial problems than Social Security.
  • Like Social Security, Medicare gains revenue through taxation, but by 2009, Medicare was expending more than it was earning, and its Trust Fund had already been tapped to access emergency funds.

• Medicaid and Medicare

  • Federal Government spent $391,266,000,000 on Medicare.
  • Medicare Advantage plans are required to offer coverage that meets or exceeds the standards set by the original Medicare program, but they do not have to cover every benefit in the same way.
  • Medicare is a earned entitlement.
  • Entitlement is most commonly based on a record of contributions to the Medicare fund.
  • Compare and contrast Medicaid and Medicare as social programs provided by the U.S. government

• Social Insurance

  • Social insurance are government-sponsored programs, such as Medicare, that provide benefits to people based on individual contributions to that program.
  • Medicare is an example of a social insurance program, while Medicaid is an example of a welfare one.
  • In the United States, Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance are among the most well-known forms of social insurance.
  • Medicare is a national program that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older, younger people with disabilities, and people with certain chronic diseases.
  • Medicare is funded through revenue from FICA and SECA payroll taxes, as well as through premiums paid by Medicare enrollees and general fund revenue from the federal government.

• The Elderly

  • Within the United States, senior citizens are at the center of several social policy issues, most prominently Social Security and Medicare.
  • In 1965, Congress created Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income or medical history.
  • Medicare spreads the financial risk associated with illness across society in order to protect everyone.
  • The Medicare population differs in significant ways from the general population.
  • Compared to the rest of Americans, Medicare enrollees are disproportionately white and female (due to women's greater longevity).

• Health Care Reform

  • In 2003 Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act , which President George W.
  • Part of this legislation included filling gaps in prescription-drug coverage left by the Medicare Secondary Payer Act that was enacted in 1980.
  • The 2003 bill strengthened the Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Program (WCMSA) that is monitored and administered by CMS.
  • A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals, and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.
  • The Associated Press reported that, as a result of PPACA's provisions concerning the Medicare Part D coverage gap (between the initial coverage limit and the catastrophic coverage threshold in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program), individuals falling in this "donut hole" would save about 40 percent.

• The Budgeting Process

  • In the long-run, expenditures related to healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are projected to grow faster than the economy overall as the population matures.
  • Social Security spending increased versus 2011 while Defense, Medicare and Medicaid spending fell.
  • Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid expenditures are funded by more permanent Congressional appropriations and so are considered mandatory spending.
  • Social Security and Medicare are sometimes called "entitlements," because people meeting relevant eligibility requirements are legally entitled to benefits, although most pay taxes into these programs throughout their working lives.
  • Discretionary budget authority is established annually by Congress, as opposed to mandatory spending that is required by laws that span multiple years, such as Social Security or Medicare.

• S-Corporations (S-Corps)

  • Employee salaries are subject to FICA tax (Social Security & Medicare tax) --currently 13.3 percent--(4.2% Social Security paid by the employee; 6.2% Social Security paid by the employer; 1.45% employee medicare and 1.45% employer medicare).

• Professional Interest Groups

  • For example, the AMA lobbied in campaigns against Medicare during the 1950's and 1960's.
  • While the AMA now supports Medicare it did opposed attempts to create a national health care system.

• Health Care Policy

  • The government primarily provides health insurance for public sector employees. 60-65% of healthcare provision and spending comes from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration.
  • Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, Obamacare represents the most significant regulatory overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
  • Also in 2007, Medicare provided health care coverage for 41.4 million elderly and disabled Americans.
  • Enrollment in Medicare is expected to reach 77 million by 2031, when the baby boom generation is fully enrolled.

• Current Issues in Health Care

  • There are also social welfare programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.
  • Medicaid and Medicare: Overall, medicare has been reduced while medicaid has been expanded.
  • Medicare spending has been increasing dramatically.