Swot Analysis For Medicare

• About the aging service or program

2015 marked the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing into law the Medicare program. Medicare is a health insurance program for people age 65 or older, people under age 65 with certain disabilities, and people of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant). Medicare consists of four components: Part A (hospital insurance), Part B (medical insurance), Part C (Medicare advantage), and Part D (Medicare prescription drug coverage). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the federal agency that runs the Medicare Program and monitors Medicaid programs offered

Treasury. These funds can only be used for Medicare. The first of the two, the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, is funded via payroll taxes paid by most employees, employers, and people who are self-employed, as well as other sources, like income taxes paid on Social Security benefits, interest earned on the trust fund investments, and Medicare Part A premiums from people who aren't eligible for premium-free Part A. The HI Trust Fund helps pay for Medicare Part A and costs associated with Medicare Program administration, like costs for paying benefits, collecting Medicare taxes, and combating fraud and abuse. The second is the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund, for which funds are authorized by Congress, premiums from people enrolled in Medicare Part B and Part D, as well as other sources, like interest earned on the trust fund investments. The SMI Trust Fund helps pay for Medicare Part B benefits, Part D, and Medicare Program administration costs (as mentioned earlier). In 2011, Medicare covered 48.7 million people. Total expenditures in 2011 were $549.1 billion. Over the years, Medicare has grown and today provides health coverage for more than 50 million

While some on Medicare enjoy good health and a comfortable retirement, many have significant health needs and frailties. Nearly half of all people on Medicare have four or more chronic conditions, nearly one-third have a cognitive/mental impairment, and about one-third are functionally impaired (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2015). Over the next few decades, the number of beneficiaries will obviously increase but, at the same time, the composition of the Medicare population will change. With more and more people living into their eighties and beyond, more will live with multiple conditions and complex needs.

As we think about the future of Medicare and draw upon the insights of the experts, we see the following five major challenges that will define future debates over Medicare