Medicare Paper

Medicare Project

In 1965, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Medicare Benefit legislation as an amendment to the Social Security Legislation after 20 years of debating. Medicare is a health insurance program for U.S. citizens at least 65 years old, or those aged younger than 65 years who suffer from certain disabilities. In 1965, nearly half of the elderly had no health insurance and many others did not have enough coverage. That is when Medicare was enacted to help assure that almost all citizens at the age 65 or older would have health care coverage. The program was modeled on the standard employer sponsored health plans of the day.
As the Nation moves into the 21st century, Medicare is facing serious financial challenges. Over the next 50 years the number of beneficiaries are expected to more than double while the ratio of workers, whose payroll taxes fund over half of the program, to beneficiaries is expected to decline from about 4 to 1 to a little over than 2 to 1. In recent estimates from the Congressional Budget Office and the Administration predicted that the program will be bankrupt about the time the growth in beneficiaries accelerates as the baby boom generation started to become eligible in 2010.
People seem to get Medicaid and Medicare confused. Medicare and Medicaid are both government sponsored programs designed to help cover healthcare costs. Both programs were established by the U.S. government in 1965 and are taxpayer funded, they are actually very different programs with differing eligibility requirements and coverage. Medicare is designed to help with long-term care for the elderly and Medicaid covers healthcare costs for the poor, but there is much more to it than this.   Medicare is a federally funded health care program that provides basic medical insurance to qualified residents. It provides coverage for over 40 million people nationwide. Medicare is also becoming the America’s leading health care insurance program.(2010). Not...