Introduction
The United States spending on healthcare soared to 3.2 trillion in 2015, when analyzed it averages out to $ 9,990 per person and it also accounted for 17.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (CMS n.d.). The growing healthcare deficit can be attributed to the increased growth of insurance coverage provided under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), rising medical cost, and most of all spending on government programs such as Medicare. Medicare is considered as one of the largest health care insurance program. In 2015, there were a total of $55,504,005 beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare plans (KFF.org). It is estimated that the United States spends around $260 billion on Medicare benefits.
Medicare was established as a federal health insurance program, that pays for healthcare services for
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On July 30, 1965 President Lyndon B Johnson signed into law a bill that established both Medicare and Medicaid (CMS, n.d.). The original Medicare bill consisted of two parts, which were Part A and Part B and they were referred to as “Original Medicare”. With many changes over the years, Medicare has evolved and now there are four tiers to the Medicare program; They are Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, Medicare Part C, and Medicare Part D. Each tier covers certain health services. Medicare Part A is known as hospital insurance; Part A covers inpatient hospital care, limited skilled nursing care facilities, certain home health care services, and hospice care. Medicare Part A will also cover certain medical equipment for older and disabled participants such as walkers and wheelchairs (MedicalNewsToday, n.d). In order to qualify for premium free Part A benefits, a person would have had to work at least 10years and paid Medicare taxes during their working period. Medicare Part B is called Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI); Part B covers select medical expenses such as office visits, blood test, X-rays, diabetic