Question

What is the difference between Medicaid and Medicare?. How do you think they help or hurt existing health disparities?. What are your thoughts on universal healthcare? 20 points.

Answer 1

Medicare is a federal program that provides health coverage if you are 65+ or under 65 and have a disability, no matter your income. Medicaid is a state and federal program that provides health coverage if you have a very low income.. They will work together to provide you with health coverage and lower your costs.

Medicare

Medicare is an insurance program. Medical bills are paid from trust funds which those covered have paid into. It serves people over 65 primarily, whatever their income; and serves younger disabled people and dialysis patients. Patients pay part of costs through deductibles for hospital and other costs. Small monthly premiums are required for non-hospital coverage. Medicare is a federal program. It is basically the same everywhere in the United States and is run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the federal government.

Medicaid

Medicaid is an assistance program. It serves low-income people of every age. Patients usually pay no part of costs for covered medical expenses. A small co-payment is sometimes required. Medicaid is a federal-state program. It varies from state to state. It is run by state and local governments within federal guidelines. To see if you qualify for your state's Medicaid (or Children's Health Insurance) program

Health and health care disparities are commonly viewed through the lens of race and ethnicity, but they occur across a broad range of dimensions. For example, disparities occur across socioeconomic status, age, geography, language, gender, disability status, citizenship status, and sexual identity and orientation.

Universal healthcare (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system that provides health care and financial protection to all residents of a particular country or region.

It is organized around providing a specified package of benefits to all members of a society with the end goal of providing financial risk protection, improved access to health services, and improved health outcomes.

Universal healthcare does not imply coverage for all people for everything, only that all people have access to healthcare. Some universal healthcare systems are government funded, while others are based on a requirement that all citizens purchase private health insurance.

Universal healthcare can be determined by three critical dimensions: who is covered, what services are covered, and how much of the cost is covered.

It is described by the World Health Organization as a situation where citizens can access health services without incurring financial hardship.

The Director General of WHO describes universal health coverage as the “single most powerful concept that public health has to offer” since it unifies “services and delivers them in a comprehensive and integrated way”.

One of the goals with universal healthcare is to create a system of protection which provides equality of opportunity for people to enjoy the highest possible level of health.

As part of Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations member states have agreed to work toward worldwide universal health coverage by 2030.

Equity in access to health services - everyone who needs services should get them, not only those who can pay for them;

The quality of health services should be good enough to improve the health of those receiving services; and

People should be protected against financial-risk, ensuring that the cost of using services does not put people at risk of financial harm.