Medicare is a federal insurance program similar in every part of the United States. The cover serves people over 65, dialysis patients and younger disabled people. Medicaid is an assistance program that aids low-income individuals of every age. The program is a federal-state and varies from state to state. The local authorities run the operations. The essay describes the components and gaps in the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the significance of the Social Security program to the US citizens.
The three critical components of the insurance covers include inpatient, outpatient, and drug prescription coverage. Inpatient pays for hospital stays, physical therapy, and skilled nurse facility (Lyon et al., 2014) . Outpatient caters for specific services such as vaccinations, medical equipment, and hospital visits (Crowley, 2014) . The prescription plan covers the cost of certain types of drugs. Gaps in Medicare include limited coverage for drug costs and long-term services ( Taylor et al., 2014) . The insurance pays for drug prescription up to a certain level. Medicare excludes cover for the cost of routine dental care, hearing aids, and eyeglasses. One coverage gap in Medicaid is the uninsured people who reside in states that have opted out of the program ( Norris, 2018). The second gap is the number of the childless population since the plan limits to parents.
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The Social Security program provides a basis of income on which employees plan for their retirement. The plan also gives social insurance protection to households whose breadwinner dies and workers who experience disability. The program is relevant to the American people because the probability of disability and premature death is high ( Huntington et al., 2013) . In June 2019, one-fifth of the beneficiaries were survivors of deceased workers or disabled individuals ( Moffitt, 2015) . Almost 95 percent of the population aged 20-49 in previous jobs covered by the program in 2018 has benefited from the plan.
The essay seeks to explain the components and gaps found in Medicare and Medicaid programs and the importance of the Social Security program in the US. Main parts of the healthcare plan include inpatient, outpatient, and prescription. The coverage gaps comprise the cost of most drugs, childless people, long-term services, and uninsured people that leave in states that lack Medicaid coverage. The Social Security program should continue as it is relevant to the American citizens.
Reference
Crowley, R. A., & Golden, W. (2014). Health policy basics: Medicaid expansion. Annals of internal medicine , 160 (6), 423-425.
Huntington, J. T., Butterfield, M., Fisher, J., Torrent, D., & Bloomston, M. (2013). The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) most accurately reflects true survival for older oncology patients. American journal of cancer research , 3 (5), 518.
Lyon, S. M., Douglas, I. S., & Cooke, C. R. (2014). Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Implications for insurance-related disparities in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep. Annals of the American Thoracic Society , 11 (4), 661-667.
Moffitt, R. A. (2015). The deserving poor, the family, and the US welfare system. Demography , 52 (3), 729-749.
Norris, L. (2018, December 12). What is the Medicaid 'coverage gap' and who does it affect? Retrieved from https://www.healthinsurance.org/faqs/what-is-the-medicaid-coverage-gap-and-who-does-it-affect/
Taylor Jr, D. H., Danis, M., Zafar, S. Y., Howie, L. J., Samsa, G. P., Wolf, S. P., & Abernethy, A. P. (2014). There is a mismatch between the medicare benefit package and the preferences of patients with cancer and their caregivers. Journal of Clinical Oncology , 32 (28), 3163.
