Introduction
Medicare is a universal healthcare insurance federal program that provides healthcare services to elderly people above the age of 65 years and those with disabilities in America.
Medicare in 1970
Introduced in 1965 by the Social Security Act of 1965 and was put under the responsibility of the Social Security Administration (SSA) which was then under the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The program was then transferred to the Health Care Financing Administration for effective coordination in 1977 (Paton 96).
This program was first proposed by President Harry Truman in 1945 to the Congress to provide a comprehensive, prepaid medical insurance plan for all citizens in the country. The plan President Truman had in mind and which he dubbed the ‘National Health Insurance’ was to cover citizens irrespective of their backgrounds for doctor, hospitals, nursing, laboratory and dental services. In this program that was to be part of the communal Security system, the needy people coverage was to be financed from the Federal reserve’s (Paton 101).
In its inception, a survey had found out that only 56% of those aged over 65 years had any form of health insurance. During its first year, the program had 19 million beneficiaries who were been the social security system. In 1972, an amendment of the social security act included in the Medicare program high risk groups disabled persons and those suffering from end-stage renal disease. During the 1970 period, the program had two parts known as Medicare Part A and B. Part covered hospital insurance while part B covered supplementary medical insurance. Part A was automatically provided for those who were 65 years and above, or had been disabled for 24 months and those were entitled to social security or rail road retirement benefits. Part B was optional and covered persons who were 65 years and above whether natives or aliens even if they were not in Part A and disabled persons entitled to Part A. However, a monthly premium was paid by all (Finkelstein and McKnight 35).
Medicare in 2010
Medicare is today administered by the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal government agency that replaced Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and is under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). CMS has other responsibilities such as administration of Medicaid, a sister program to Medicare and State Children’s Health Insurance Program administration among others (Finkelstein and McKnight 41).
In 2010 Medicare covers around 45 million persons. In 2010, Medicare cover provides four parts of coverage to its clients with two being added to the original covers. Part A which is Hospital Insurance provides cover to meet inpatient care in hospital and skilled nursing care facilities that are not long-term care givers or custodial, hospice care cover and some aspects of home health care. This program also includes cover to critical access hospitals for it beneficiaries. Premiums are not charged for most beneficiaries in this cover since they had paid for it while employment or their spouses did. Part B of cover is the Medical Insurance. This provides its beneficiaries with doctor’s services fees and outpatient services. It also extends cover to some other services not provided in Part A when they are needed. Premiums are charged for most people in this part. Part C is the Prescription drug coverage which requires a monthly premium. This is provided by private companies for access to drugs at lower cost. The Medicare Advantage is the last part of cover in the program. This extends coverage to private plans that are provided by appointed by CMS and persons in the other parts can opt to pay for it (The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation 5).
Conclusion
This shows the milestones made by Medicare, and although a lot needs to be done for the program, coverage has increased and better services are offered. In other studies, Medicare has been shown to reduce mortality rates among the elderly over the years. Efforts now should be focused on eliminating overlaps in the program that makes it inefficient (The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation 12).
Works Cited
Finkelstein A., and McKnight R. What Did Medicare Do? The Initial Impact Medicare on Mortality and Out of pocket Medical Spending. Eugene, Oregon: University of Oregon, 2007. Print.
Paton C. Health and Welfare Policy in the USA. In C. Paton, The USA and Canada. Boca Raton, Florida: Europa Publications, 1979. Print. The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation. Fact Sheet: Medicare Advantage. Washington, DC: The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010. Print.