Medicare Comparison

Medicaid is a joi8nt federal and state program. It provides health coverage to nearly 60 million Americans including children, pregnant women, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. As well as those people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income. Eligibility does however vary state to state.

For close to 50 years, the Mississippi Medicaid program has provided health coverage for its low-income residents. “While Medicaid originally only insured Americans receiving cash welfare assistance, Congress expanded it over the years to help insure those left behind by the private insurance system”.7 Medicaid in the state of Mississippi is a health care program that help pays for medical services for its low income residents. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, Medicaid provided $3.9 billion in benefits which attributed to 20.4% of all health care spending in the state7 and insured 754,333 – 1 out 4 (25.6%) state residents.6

Medicaid is health insurance that covers low income or no income people and families. There are some people that qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Due to the Medicaid Expansion (Obamacare), 26 states and the District of Columbia have eased some of the income requirements for Medicaid. Anyone below 138% of the federal poverty level is eligible

However, the coverage Medicare provides comes with premium and cost-sharing requirements as well as gaps in covered benefits, especially for long-term services and supports (LTSS). As a result, Medicare coverage often is supplemented by additional coverage from retiree benefits, Medigap policies separately purchased, and, for low-income beneficiaries, Medicaid (Rowland, 2015). Now, the eligible Medicare beneficiaries can choose between managed care and indemnity plans. Medicare managed care program, Medicare advantage plan, promoted new forms of managed care that were more like traditional insurance policies than like HMOs.

Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP’s healthcare coverage is usually used in the typical American household. Though they serve different people they all have the same goal: To provide health coverage for lower costs and better care. They all have many ways they are funded. Medicare is funded through taxes, trust funds, premiums from members of Part A,B, and D, and funds from Congress. Medicaid and CHIP is funded by the government. The federal government pays states for a specific percentage of program expenditures or costs for a specific group. The percentage for Medicaid is 15% higher than CHIP’s. If you want to be a member of medicaid, you have to have a limited income, be 65 or older, a child under 19, be pregnant, be living with a disability,

Medicare is a social insurance program that is sponsored by the government (1). This was originally made for the long term care for the elderly people that needed health insurance (2). There are four different parts that are provided to the people that are eligible for Medicare. Part A helps pay for the hospitals. As Part B pays for all medical reasons; such as, physician visits, outpatient services, and the need for medical equipment. Part C, for example, deals with the care of people with diabetes, and Part D is to provide people with prescription drugs (1).

Medicare, enacted on 1965 is a government funded health insurance program which covers the elderly, the disabled and people with end stage renal diseases. With Medicare covering specifically the elderly and the disabled, the cost is usually on the higher side. Medicare has been in action since the last 50 years. Many even approve of expanding Medicare instead of ACA, as Medicare is government funded while ACA has much commercial involvement. Medicare is heavily subsidized and is universally

The Medicaid program is a federal health insurance program for the under-privileged and incapacitated. The plan is managed by states within comprehensive limits instituted by the federal government. Together the federal and state governments finance the program, with the federal share ranging from 50 percent to 74 percent. Now Medicaid currently makes up 7 percent of the federal budget and 23.7 percent of all state expenses. Approximately sixty million people are enrolled in the Medicaid program and 400 million is spent annually.

It is important that we all understand the basics of the Medicare and Medicaid programs as we will all eventually come of age where it is necessary to seek their assistance. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief history of how the program came about, the various plans for each program, issues that affect cost and access to the programs, how the political arena is affected and finally a conclusion with final thoughts on the total information.

Medicare is a federal program that was created to serve people who are over the age of 65 and don’t have private insurance. There is no financial requirement for Medicare; it is public health insurance offered to anyone over the age of 65. Medicaid is different because it a state and federal program; and there is also the financial aspect to it. In order to be eligible for Medicaid a person must have a low monthly income to receive the subsidized health care plans. A person can be eligible for both and those people receive dual eligibility according to Medicare Interactive (2017). These two programs have served the people in need for over 50 years and the creation of Obamacare has directly affected these programs.

Medicaid is a jointly funded federal-state health insurance program. This program provides free or low cost health insurance to low income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities. (HealthCare.Gov, n.d.) The funding comes from several sources; the federal government guarantees

Medicare and Medicaid are very different, Medicare is a insurance federal program while Medicaid is an assistant program for low income people of any age. Medicare then serve people over 65 years primarily, under Medicare patients pay the costs through deductibles for hospitals and other cost. Medicare consist in two part; Part A which is the hospital insurance and Part B which is the Medicare insurance, they also have Part A Premium and Part B Premium. The Medicare Part A Premium you pay certain amount of money a month, but if you are 65 and meet certain criteria that they have ,you can get the Premium-free Part A. Medicare Part B after you meet your deductible, you normally pay 20% of the Medicare approve amount for doctors services, including

Medicare also does not pay for long-term care services, routine dental care and dentures, routine vision care or eyeglasses, or hearing exams and hearing aids. The deductibles are extremely high for the enrollee and their beneficiaries and there is not a limit on the annual out-of-pocket expenses that one could accrue. (Carroll L. Estes, 2013)

Medicaid offers health insurance benefits for individuals and families with low income (133% of the FPL). This includes low income: pregnant women, disabled, blind, and aged. Medicaid is administered by the states following federal guidance. Medicaid benefits vary from state to state. Eligibility requirements include being a U.S. citizen, and a resident in the state where benefits are received. In the case of immigrants, one must be in the U.S. for a minimum of five years. Both state and federal governments finance the program. Nursing home care is covered by Medicaid. Depending on the state, none or minimal copays and deductibles are associated with this program.

Also referred to as a Medigap plan, Medicare supplemental insurance policies are important for most people who are covered under Medicare. When you turn 65, you can apply for coverage under Medicare, but this insurance will not cover all of your medical expenses. This is the purpose of purchasing additional health insurance. However, there are a few things to understand about Medicare supplemental health insurance. The following are three of them.