Making health insurance more affordable for more American seniors

There is a lot of debate regarding Medicare, Medicare supplement policies, and their funding. The Medicare program has been around since the 1960s, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law. At that time, only about one quarter of the American elderly population was covered by insurance. Currently, the elderly are the only age group that basically has universal coverage. Medicare supplement policies came about more recently than that. However, there is a lot of concern that the Medicare funds are running out, that Medicare supplement policies are not doing enough to help the elderly, and that there is not enough incoming money to continue to meet the program's financial needs.

Many people do benefit from Medicare, even though it does not cover 100% of all medical costs. Many people purchase Medicare supplement policies to help offset the costs that are not covered by traditional Medicare. These premiums will also go towards funding Medicare. To offset these gaps in coverage, many American older adults will also purchase Medicare supplement policies that will help them pay some additional costs. Other people get their Medicare benefits from Medicare Advantage Plans through a private health insurance company. This is another way the Medicare program is trying to share costs and risks, by allowing private health insurance companies to also offer Medicare benefits. The insurance carriers get paid from Medicare to offer benefits to older Medicare-eligible adults. A member who buys a Medicare Advantage Plan cannot also purchase a Medicare supplement policy because that would be considered being eligible to have double benefits for the same things. Medicare Advantage Plans include many of the benefits of a Medicare supplement policy.
Medicare supplement policies are regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and are identified at this time by the letters A through L. In the near future, new Medicare supplement policies M through P will be introduced. Some older Medicare Supplement policies will be discontinued soon. The availability of the different Medicare supplement policies is based on geographic location. You will need to submit your zip code and county in order to find out which Medicare supplement policies are available for you to purchase in your area.

The current crisis with Medicare funding is because the baby boomer generation is close to reaching the age of 65. All of these baby boomers have been working and paying taxes into FICA and Medicare and funding the Medicare program. When the baby boomers all hit the age of 65, there will be more people using the Medicare program than there will be people paying and funding the Medicare prog ram. This is where the crisis lies.

Although there is a lot of concern about Medicare funding, it has not been a top priority for the government. The current emphasis on health care reform has certainly touched on the Medicare funding problem. Attempts at making health insurance more affordable for more American citizens are supposed to help relieve some of the burden on Medicare. However, at this time, it is difficult to predict how that will all work out. Many conservative leaders predict some huge financial obstacles that Medicare must overcome in order to stay a viable program.

Medicare Supplement policies are purchased from a private health insurance company, but they are heavily regulated by the CMS to work with traditional Medicare Parts A and B policies.

What Is Medicare Part D?

Medicare Part D is the prescription drug coverage under the Medicare program. This medicare plan can be somewhat complicated. The best source of accurate information about the Medicare "part d" plan is the official government Medicare web site. Medicare, like many government programs, may seem complicated at first but if you take your time you will be able to understand what is going on. Part D is particularly a little bit quirky.

Part D must be purchased from private insurance companies and health maintenance organizations. Coverage in Part D is voluntary. There are many rules regarding when you can sign up for Part D. You might have to pay a fine if you do not enroll in the right time period.

Congress and President Obama passed significant health care reform on March 23, 2010. The law is called The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Health care reform attempted to address the problem with the so called "doughnut hole". The doughnut hole was a major flaw in this Gov't program.

Part D will pay 75% of prescription drugs after a deductible is met up to a certain limit. When the limit is reach the patient has to pay one hundred per cent for prescription drugs until another limit is reached. At this point medicare will pay for ninety-five per cent of drugs. These terms are done on an annual basis. Each year the patient is obligated to pay the deductible and the limits are reset.

There are many decisions a senior citizen must make regarding prescript drug insurance protection. There are many options to consider when deciding what type of prescription coverage you need. You must analyze your particular situation and making an informed assessment.

Because of the importance of these decisions, it is suggested that the senior citizen consult with a professional. Your CPA, insurance agent or other trusted professional may give you the financial guidance to assist you in making wise informed decisions. It is your responsibility to educate yourself about Medicare. The more you understand how these important federal programs work the better off you will be.

Social Security and Medicare are wonderful programs that are managed by our federal government. The success of these programs demonstrate that our federal government can have a positive effect on our lives. Although there are problems with Medicare, over time these problems will be addressed. Medicare Part D will be an important program that is helping millions of lives.