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Medicare vs Medicaid
Posted: Aug 15, 2019
While they sound alike, Medicare and Medicaid are two very different programs. Both can help you pay for health care and medical expenses, however, medicare is an age-based federal health insurance program that guarantees coverage for individuals aged sixty-five and over, along with younger people with disabilities. Medicare is funded by a combination of a payroll tax, beneficiary premiums, and surtaxes from beneficiaries, co-pays and deductibles, and general united states treasury revenue.
On the other hand, Medicaid is a public assistance program for needy Americans of all ages. It is a public assistance program based on financial needs. It is paid for with public funds collected through taxes.
Should a person has a financial need, that person likely qualify for Medicaid if they are one of the categories underneath:
- Medicaid will cover both the mother and the child.
- Parent of a minor or a teenager living alone. Medicaid covers for teenagers who live alone. The child has to be under twenty-one years old to qualify. A parent of a child who is in financial need can also apply to fall under this category.
- Aged, blind or disabled
- No disabilities, no children aged 18. The affordable care act that was passed under the Obama Administration gives states the opportunity to provide Medicaid to low-income individuals under the age of sixty-five without disability or minor children.
Medicare on the other hand functions more as a health insurance program offered to senior-citizen set along with people under sixty-five who are disabled in a certain way. It is considered entitlement. Employees usually pay Medicaid taxes on their earnings while working. These taxes are taken out automatically, just like social security contributions. That employee would automatically be eligible for Medicare at the age of sixty-five. This program, however, is not based on financial needs.
Medicare comes in four parts:
- Part A covers hospital care
- Part B covers doctors, medical test, and procedures. This is a basic package that they offer, however, there is a premium program for it.
- Part C covers for medical advantage: This is one of the alternative options to traditional Medicare coverage. This coverage often includes Part A, Part B, and Part D.
- Part D, prescription drug coverage. Part D is administered by private insurances companies, and it is a requirement for any individual to have it unless there is another coverage from another source. Part D will require the individual to pay a monthly premium in most of the cases.
Key take away:
Both Medicaid and medicare have their own set of weakness when it comes to making affordable health care available to every individual. However, a lot of people are trying to make some tweaks in it to make it better. Medicare is predicted to add more part of their coverage in 2020. Even tho medicare advantage 2020 are still being planned, it is something that everyone had been waiting for years.
More details about Medicaid and Medicare can be found on Wikipedia or by searching these terms on Google.
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