Difference between Medicare and
Medicaid
Medicare
and Medicaid are two government-run programs that are entirely different from
one another and have been around since 1965. The purpose of these programs is
to help low-income and older citizens of the United States purchase health
insurance. Medicare and Medicaid were part of Lyndon Johnson’s campaign titled
Great Society, who wanted to fulfill the economic, healthcare, individual and
social needs of the people. Medicare and Medicaid allow Americans to get rid of
their financial burden to an extent and are funded by different governmental
bodies and NGOs. Medicare is primarily available to permanent U.S. residents
who are age 60 or above (Segal, Rollins, Hodges, & Roozeboom, 2014).
In
some circumstances, younger people can also qualify for financial aid, but they
would have to prove that they had received two consecutive years of Social
Security disability benefits. As of March 2018, over 50 million Medicare
enrollees in the United States received financial aid in just a couple of
months. On the other hand, Medicaid is funded by both federal and state
governments and intends to help low-income families and individuals. It covers
their custodial care expenses and medical costs. Rules and regulations of this
program vary from state to state, but on the basic level, Medicaid offers
better benefits than Medicare such as routine checkup facilities and vision and
dental services (Grabowski, 2007).
How has Medicare evolved to
accommodate the changing needs of society?
The
Medicare system was launched over 40 years ago. With the passage of time, this
program has evolved to fulfill the changing requirements of society. This
system strives to become perfect and effective for those who know how to avail
it. If you are not familiar with this program, you might want to check the
internet to know more. Basically, Medicare is funded by two portions of payroll
taxes, Congress, and monthly premium deductions from the Social Security
checks. To allow people to get best out of the program, Medicare has been
divided into four main parts: Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, Medicare Part
C, and Medicare Part D (Grabowski, 2007).
The
first part helps poor and needy patients pay their hospital bills and doctor
fees. Its second part allows Americans to pay for their medications and
supplies that aren’t covered by ordinary health insurance policies. Medicare’s
third part is the combination of Part A and B, meaning people can choose to pay
their hospital bills themselves or allow the Medicare representatives to do
this on their behalf. Last but not the least, its fourth part helps the poor
pay for medicines their doctors have prescribed for treatment. It’s safe to say
that the Medicare system that we see these days is not the same as it was years
ago. Since its inauguration in 1965, the government has changed several
policies and modified the core social welfare policy to ensure that it fits the
requirements of the targeted population. As the federally operated program,
Medicare primarily serves beneficiaries across the country regardless of their
sex, gender and religion (Segal, Rollins, Hodges, & Roozeboom, 2014).
The impact of healthcare reform
initiatives on Medicare and Medicaid
Recently,
the ACA (Affordable Care Act) came up with a set of healthcare reforms that
clarified how Medicare and Medicaid should cover hospital fees of the poor and
needy people and move America toward the universal insurance coverage (Segal,
Rollins, Hodges, & Roozeboom, 2014). All of its reforms or initiatives have
helped Americans get timely treatment for HIV/AID, cancer, and other severe
diseases. No doubt, these healthcare reform initiatives have improved the
performance of Medicare and Medicaid systems and allowed the people access and
avail these programs easily and quickly (Grabowski, 2007).
Work
Cited:
Grabowski,
D. C. (2007). Medicare and Medicaid: Conflicting Incentives for Long-Term
Care. Milbank Quarterly, 85(4), 579-610.
doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2007.00502.x
Segal,
M., Rollins, E., Hodges, K., & Roozeboom, M. (2014). Medicare-Medicaid
Eligible Beneficiaries and Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations. Medicare
& Medicaid Research Review,4(1). doi:10.5600/mmrr.004.01.b01
