Similarities, Differences, and Philosophies of Medicare and Medicaid

Healthcare Delivery Systems
Name
Institutional Affiliation Healthcare Delivery Systems The US health sector is characterized by a mixture of public and private ventures that seek to offer cheap and quality healthcare services to all people. The diversity experienced in the health systems highlights the notion that there is no single philosophy that governs care delivery in the country. Resultantly, each healthcare delivery system upholds their objectives and targets different people within the American population. Both private and public systems are considered to offer quality care, although there are issues faced by each. Attempts to address some of these issues are enshrined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted by the Obama Administration in 2010. This has fostered the move towards achieving universal medical care coverage in the country through the different health care delivery systems. There are two predominant public health care delivery systems in the US, the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The two programs were initiated under the Lyndon Johnson administration in 1965 and are run by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Medicare Medicare is a federal government health program that caters for the healthcare needs of individuals aged 65 and over and some disabled persons.  The program is a single-payer initiative, which alludes that the government offers the insurance services that reimburse for the treatment offered to the patient. In this light, the Medicare is financed by the federal government through income taxes, payroll taxes that are shared between employees and their employers, and through premiums paid by individuals who enroll in the program. The individuals who enroll in the program engage in Medicare Part B, and D. The Medicare Part A benefits cover the hospital services, Part B the physician services, and Part D the prescriptions.  Medicare Part C offers the beneficiaries an option to receive health care benefits by engaging in different private health plans through the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). The HMOs offer services through a managed care approach that ensures that the cost of care is reduced by restricting the health care providers who can offer services to the patients. The addition of Medicare part C to Part D in 2003 made it more attractive by covering prescriptions, which resulted in the Medicare Advantage Plans (Abrams, Nuzum, Mika, & Lawlor, 2011). The health delivery system has faced financial challenges over the decades due to increased cost of care services and high levels of life expectancy in the country. The funding of the program is conducted through the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. With projections of further challenges in funding the program, there is a need to increase efficiency in controlling the federal spending to ensure that all parts of the program remain functional. Medicare is premised on a philosophy of offering affordable health care services to people aged 65 and over. The popularity of this health delivery system creates the perception that people acquire health services for free. Contrary, the program is not a free health care program. The people fund it through payrol...