Medicare and Medicaid - Essay Example

Medicare and Medicaid Difference between Medicare and Medicaid Medicare: It means medical care. It I a federally funded health insurance program which provides health benefits to older Americans, disabled people, individuals with kidney failure and people with low income and high medical bills. Part A covers patients: Hospital care Rehabilitation after a hospital stay Medical home health care Hospice care. The deductibles and co-payments must be fulfilled in this case just like any other insurance policies.

Individuals who have reached the age of 65 which is the Social Security retirement age receive Social Security benefits and hey do not have to pay additional cost for Medicare as they have done so during their working years. Part B covers: Doctor visits and services Outpatient services such as therapy and rehabilitation, diagnostic tests, outpatient hospital services, ambulances, durable medical equipment, and some supplies. Eighty percent of the approved charges are paid by Medicare Part B after annual deductible is met.

It is optional to enroll for Medicare Part B and the Medicare program stays constant from state to state. [1] [2] Medicaid: It means financial aid to pay for care. It is an assistance program which is funded both by the federal government and the individual states. It helps individuals of all ages with low income and medical costs and the eligibility requirements vary from state to state. People who have Medicare coverage can also qualify for Medicaid as they have low income and Medicaid covers their deductibles and co-payments which would have to be paid by them if they were not under Medicaid.

It does not cover any kind of custodial care. It covers inpatient and outpatient hospital services, laboratory and x-ray services, physician services, nursing facility services, home health services and services of a nurse-midwife. Every state program includes some prescription drug coverage. There are special rules for people who apply for Medicaid for long-term care: Penalties for transferring assets for less than fair value Income and resource protections for the spouse Estate recovery. [1] [2] Evolution of Medicare to Accommodate the Changing Needs of Society Medicare should modernize and update its package of services according to customers needs because customers try alternative medicines and cross geographical boundaries to get the treatment.

Therefore in order to satisfy them, changes have to be made. Patients are troubled with the complexity, paperwork, and regulatory burdens. It is believed that these paper works are essential because the program needs to maintain procedures and protections. The complexity and regulatory burdens can be eliminated to streamline and simplify procedures and to cut out redundancy. It makes Medicare to become more user-friendly and free resources for more productive uses. Medicare with its better service will help millions of individual with low income to survive in a society where people can not afford additionally high medical charges.

It helps the poor and old to survive their illness because the cost of medical treatment is so high that they might prefer dying. This helps in maintaining a healthy society with healthy people with low death rates. The Future Consensus of Medicare Medicare is trying to improvise its procedures for the benefit of its customers. It is trying to make preventive care one of its primary tools in improving utilization because it saves not only lives but money as it is usually easier and less costly to treat.

It is trying to adopt administrative and operational reforms to create an environment that facilitates future access to innovation.It is making changes that ensure fundamental fairness in how the program operates and the decisions it makes so that they are clear and open to their customers. Work Cited: 1) "WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDICARE AND MEDICAID" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on November 9, 2007 2) "What's The Difference Between Medicare & Medicaid" [Internet], Available at , Accessed on November 9, 2007