Changing Medicare And Social Security

Since its establishment in 1965 we have seen Medicare change as people’s needs change however being a federal program these changes do have an incredible amount of lag time. One of the first major changes to Medicare occurred in 1972 when President Nixon signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972 which extended coverage to individuals under age 65 with long-term disabilities, expanded benefits to include some chiropractic services and speech and physical therapy. During this time we see the American public growing tired of the Vietnam Conflict and lack of support and care for those returning Marines and soldiers with severe disabilities. As the protests escalate and the peace initiatives fail a key piece of legislation is signed showing government support and a willingness to extend health care benefits to this growing and vocal population of veterans (The Vietnam War, 1999). Also included in this Amendment is the encouragement of the use of Health Maintenance Organizations, President Nixon’s administration caught in the scandal of Watergate and pending hearings appeased the left and proposed the HMO Act, which Congress passed in 1973 (Phillips, 2003).

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

As we become older, issues with our health begin to take affect and finding ways to fund for that care is becoming even more difficult. In the article “Some Elders Must Take Drastic Measures to Obtain Long-term Care”, national magazine journalist Mary A. Fischer (2011) states that many Americans must face demeaning and disempowering choices in order to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare—federal funded health insurance programs— such as refusing to pay for a spouses institutionalization, divorce, and spending down assets. The author argues that these choices leave the healthy spouse with decreased funds to plan for their own retirement expense (Fisher, 2011). Working in the health care field for 4 years, along with my family’s own personal experiences I can relate to this article, since I have seen a variety of ways that federal funded health insurances have been unable to meet the expectations and demands of its beneficiaries.

The baby-boomer generation is aging and adding more beneficiaries’ at an increasing rate than ever before and is estimated to impact the federal deficit by over 17% by 2020. Many other countries have National Healthcare that provides better care at a much lower cost. Medicare was the motivation for a universal healthcare plan and a program for the U.S. could have a positive impact. (Starr, 2011).

Many proposals to reorganize Medicare could increase the financial and health risks faced by the vulnerable elderly. Turning Medicare into a premium-support system a voucher set randomly at the value of the second-least-expensive insurance plan could shift costs to elderly households. Increasing the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 will leave many Americans ages 65 and 66 without insurance. The basic idea of part A Medicare payment is simple. The patient pays a deductible that approximately equal to the cost of the first day in the hospital;

I was intrigued by the amount of pill bottles that one patient had in his kitchen cupboard which made me reflect on the cost of health care produced by the older adult. I began to research the cost of living longer and found that as of 2011, 24 percent of the Medicare population were over the age of 80. I also found that Medicare spending for those above the age of 85 averages around $14,745 (Neuman, Cubanski, Huaung, & Damico, 2015). So I ended up learning that the older

As this baby-boomer generation continues to age there will be profound effects on the way that money is spent on health care and insurance. With approximately 77 million people turning 65 over the next several years, the amount of government spending on Medicare will greatly increase (Gigante, 2012). Thus, the demand for medical care associated with the aging population will so

Medicare has gone through many changes through the years since President Johnson signed the programs, including Medicaid into law in 1965. Almost ¾ of the senior population, over 65 were uninsured. Even before that President Truman was eager to start a national health insurance plan, in 1945. In 2003, President GW Bush added a prescription drug plan to Medicare. Even President Teddy Roosevelt proposed a national health insurance plan when he was running in 1912. In 1972, President Nixon signed a bill allowing people with long-term disabilities under the age of 65 and patients with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease), to be covered. Over the years more services were accepted for Medicare coverage, including hospice and home health. 2010 brought good

Medicare changed overtime and in 1983 adopted the Prospective Payment Plan. PPS was designed to pay a facility a lump some to provide services for a set amount of patients covered by Medicare. One of the reasons behind it was to encourage health care practitioners to proved services in a timely manner in order to shorten the rehabilitation time of an individual.

My group spoke against the motion with each person speaking on a particular subtopic. On my part of the group I talked about the several parts of Medicare: part A, B, C and D, the people it covers, their rights, and benefits to their beneficiaries, how much spend on Medicare and how it affects Medicare beneficiaries out of pocket cost. Concrete examples were given on how premium support program would shift more cost to beneficiaries; especially, traditional Medicare recipients and how it could affect Medicare beneficiaries out-of-pocket cost, increase mortality rate and health risk. Also, why the federal government spends more on Medicare: baby boom generation. For instance, Medicare is a health insurance plan provided by the federal government for people age 65 and older, young people with disabilities and individuals with chronic health diseases. These individual are people with less ability to work more or harder to save money for their medical cost as well as other expenses. They are weak and vulnerable, and even if they have saved money from their young age or their parents have saved money for their health, that money would diminish since there is no more income or less revenue for them. According to Henry K Kaiser Family Foundation report dated April 2016, from 2011 statistics - two-thirds of beneficiaries (66%) had three or more chronic conditions. More than one-quarter of all recipients (27%) reported being in fair or poor health, and just over 3 in 10 (31%)

In discussion with two families, the pros and cons of Medicare are discussed. Melvin and Barbara Coats are above retirement age and until recently were both still working. Edward and Betty Florence are below retirement age, but Edward is disabled and hasn’t worked since 2007.

I believe our current social security system should be replaced by a mandatory private pension system. If it is not gracefully transitioned from the way it currently is then it will unfortunately disappear altogether in an abrupt fashion. A replacement will alleviate this issue and replace it with a viable option that can sustain itself.

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.

The Social Security System is in need of a new reform; our current system was not designed for the age stratification we have at this time. The U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy states, “The original Social Security Act, signed into law on August 14, 1935, grew out of the work of the Committee on Economic Security, a cabinet-level group appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just one year earlier. The Act created several programs that, even today, form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs.” Social Security was modeled to aid the elderly citizens, however during the