Issues with Financin Medicare
Issues in Financing Medicare
Background
With the rising number of uninsured Americans, health care has been a major issue in the United States. Due to “The Great Recession” and the growing number of Americans who found themselves unemployed, the number of uninsured Americans has rose from 46.6 million in 2005 to a record number of 50.7 million in 2010. Many of these uninsured again have lost their employee health insurance benefits or they made the decision to cut their health insurance just to cut back costs. The rising prices of health care have also been a concern over the last few years. With new medical technology and increasing prices of prescription drugs, it has become hard for one particular group to keep up. Our elderly. For most of the elderly, they do not have employer-paid insurance to depend on. They depend on Medicare for their medical and prescription needs. But with the increasing number of baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare, the future of the Medicare fund is looking very dim.
Problem Issue
When Americans retire, the last thing they should have to worry about is how will my health care be paid for? With healthcare becoming a big issue lately, Americans need to be very knowledge about their options for healthcare and more importantly, where will the future going for that healthcare plan. Medicare has become a hot topic because of the state of the Medicare trust fund. This trust fund was created by the U.S. Department of Treasury to maintain the funds that are dedicated for Medicare. The future of this trust fund is very important to the healthcare future of our disabled, retired and elderly Americans. To fully understand what needs to be done to help Medicare stay afloat; we need to first understand what Medicare is and how it is funded. We then can determine solutions and recommendations that can be made to solve the Medicare funding crisis.
Literature Review
The United States Dept, of Health and Human Services
Background
With the rising number of uninsured Americans, health care has been a major issue in the United States. Due to “The Great Recession” and the growing number of Americans who found themselves unemployed, the number of uninsured Americans has rose from 46.6 million in 2005 to a record number of 50.7 million in 2010. Many of these uninsured again have lost their employee health insurance benefits or they made the decision to cut their health insurance just to cut back costs. The rising prices of health care have also been a concern over the last few years. With new medical technology and increasing prices of prescription drugs, it has become hard for one particular group to keep up. Our elderly. For most of the elderly, they do not have employer-paid insurance to depend on. They depend on Medicare for their medical and prescription needs. But with the increasing number of baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare, the future of the Medicare fund is looking very dim.
Problem Issue
When Americans retire, the last thing they should have to worry about is how will my health care be paid for? With healthcare becoming a big issue lately, Americans need to be very knowledge about their options for healthcare and more importantly, where will the future going for that healthcare plan. Medicare has become a hot topic because of the state of the Medicare trust fund. This trust fund was created by the U.S. Department of Treasury to maintain the funds that are dedicated for Medicare. The future of this trust fund is very important to the healthcare future of our disabled, retired and elderly Americans. To fully understand what needs to be done to help Medicare stay afloat; we need to first understand what Medicare is and how it is funded. We then can determine solutions and recommendations that can be made to solve the Medicare funding crisis.
Literature Review
The United States Dept, of Health and Human Services
References: U.S Dept. of Health and Human Services. January 2011. Medicare and You 2011. CMS Publication 10050. Baltimore, MD The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2008). Financing Medicare: An Issue Brief. Menlo Park, California: Lisa Potetz Moffitt, Robert E. Ph.D and Riedl, Brian M. (2004, March 25).Medicare’s Deepening Financial Crisis: The High Price of Financial Irresponsibility. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/healthcare/bg1740.cfm American Medical Association. (2008, March 31). Medicare’s Immediate and Long-Term Problems Demand Attention. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102096.php Frakt, Austin. (November 10, 2009). Medicare’s Financing Problems: Some Solutions. The Incidental Economist. Retrieved from http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/medicares-financing-problems-some-solutions/ Johnson, Richard. (2003, December 16). Changing the Age of Medicare Eligibility Implications for Older Adults, Employers, and the Government. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/publications/410902.html Pear, Robert. (May 12,2009). Recession Drains Social Security and Medicare. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/us/politics/13health.html