Medicare is health insurance for those seniors and disabled who wouldn’t otherwise be covered due to a lack of affordability of health insurance. It’s a very complicated system that has several pros and cons. If Medicare didn’t exist there would be a huge number of aging Americans that couldn’t get health care benefits. Because of this, they would have to pay medical expenses out of pocket which could far exceed what they make annually. This is also true for those that are younger but completely dependent on those that care for them. They are unable to work due to a medical condition that prevents them from getting any other healthcare coverage option. Medicare is very affordable for those that qualify and allows those that need it to get the health coverage that otherwise they wouldn’t have.
Medicare and likewise, medicare supplement plans, allows patients to have access to the medical care that they need as well as prescription drugs. Most people, as they age, will be dependent on prescription drugs that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. This propelled some of the drug manufacturers to produce these drugs at more affordable rates. They also saw a golden ticket for these seniors as they produced drugs that would help them live a better life, knowing they could afford them with this insurance.
Because of medicare there are standards that are expected to be met when it comes to health care. They were the first to make this list of standards. There is accountability from the hospitals. They will publish the hospital’s ratings in public, which makes these hospitals work hard to keep in good standing with Medicare, meaning they are going to do their very best under the conditions.
The cons of Medicare.
Rather than walk around the bush, we’ll just say it, it’s expensive. It is approx. 15% of the total overall federal budget. Read that again, the federal budget. And the demand for need is increasing year after year. This is a huge chunk of a budget that could be used to fund other things. However, as it stands, it is critical that we offer this sort of insurance to our seniors.
Medicare does help those that are struggling for medical attention. However, it does put a burden on the overall health care system as these seniors cannot afford to pay for their hospitalizations.
Medicare is an attractant to fraud. Doctors will study what they pay for and makeup ways to make money frauding the system. This was done in the early 2000s when with opioids. They would prescribe the drugs but they were never purchased. They would also bill for rehab services that were never done. Because of this there has been a huge task force formed around catching this fraud and bringing justice to the people.
Medicare costs taxpayers a good amount too. Where do you think they are getting the funds to cover all of this? It is through payroll taxes. The costs are split between the employer and employee. This cost is 2.9% and it covers as much as 36% of the funds needed to fund the program.
While we can debate on how to fund it or how it should be set up. The fact of the matter is that it is needed. But, now you can see why there are always debates going on because of it.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
