McClure
Paper Katelin 3: How has the Economic Downturn Affected the Elderly
This day and age many people assume that the elderly have perfect health care but
that is far form the truth. This assumption most likely comes from the Medicare Act of
1965, which was designed to provide low cost medical insurance for the elderly of our
country. The Medicare Act formerly known as the Social Security Act Amendment was
signed into law by capital President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 30, 1965. The problem
with Medicare today is that it does not pay for long term supervised care for old people
(Rowland, D. 1996). According to NursingHomeRank.com the average cost for a nursing
home or other long-term care facility is around $70,000 a year. When you take that
amount and multiply it by the average amount of time spent in a nursing home, which is
two and a half years, that equals almost $180,000 spent on living cost alone. If Medicare
is not covering these expenses and these individuals obviously an alternative source of
income how are they expected to pay these bills.
Medicare is able to provide health coverage for over 50 million people over the
age of 65 through payroll taxes paid by almost anyone who has a job (Rowland, D.
1996). Employers withhold a certain percentage of their paychecks, which is put into a
fund and then used to pay doctor bills for Medicare patients. In 1965, no one ever
thought that this system of using taxpayers money to pay for senior citizens bills would
ever back fire. Little did they know, Medicare would eventually be paying out more than
it was receiving. The current recession and increased number of lay offs have caused
fewer taxes to be available for the Medicare fund. The Medicare fund is expected to be
empty by the year of 2017 (Aizenman, N. 2011).
There are four divisions of the Medicare program and each deal with a different
aspect of healthcare. Medicare Part A is coverage that covers major illnesses and also
near death issues. For example, it would cover inpatient hospital care and also hospice
care. The plan could also potentially cover in home health care, which allows seniors to
be in their home as long as possible. Once the elderly is moved to a nursing facility,
which is the portion that Medicare also pays for. Medicare Part B covers just your
average doctor visit. It can also cover other minor issues such as ones that if not treated
would turn into major issues. One other thing this plan can pay for is if the patient would
need therapy. Physical and occupational therapy can become highly common among the
elderly. Of all of the different types of Medicare this is the one that is most commonly
used. Medicare Part C is another plan that helps people afford private insurance. This
plan is also known as the Medicare Advantage Plan. If Medicare Part C is the route they
take, they cant use Part A or Part B. If they choose Part C, they individual must choose a
plan that is approved by Medicare for a certain purpose. This type of Medicare offers the
most choices, but it also requires additional premium payment. Medicare Part D is the
newest Medicare option available. Prescription drug cost are on the up rise, and the need
for those drugs is essential, therefor drug coverage was added to Part D. There are
different types of plans, but it should be remembered that co-payments or deductibles that
may need to be met. These different types of Medicare provide flexible plans to meet an
individuals needs (Aizenman, N. 2011)
It has been known from the beginning of President Barak Obamas regime that his
health reform bill would negatively affect senior citizens. Under Obamas health care
reform bill a tighter budget will be placed on the amount of money available for
Medicare. On the plus side, there will be a larger budget for prescriptions through
Medicare, which has previously been lacking funds. Obamas plan will benefit also senior
citizens by paying their yearly check up visits.
In an interview with my great aunt Joyce Russo, who is an 80-year-old retired
military nurse she made the following statements about her current health care status.
Q: What are your initial thoughts on Obamas health care reform?
A: Although President Obama claimed that his new health care bill would not
affect my current insurance plan, he did not tell the complete truth considering
that I am in good health and that I have needed little medical attention over the
past few years I have not had to deal directly with Medicare or other insurance
policies. I know that for those senior citizens younger than I am their benefits are
soon to run dry.
Q: How much money did you pay out of pocket prior to Obamas reform?
A: On that note, Obamas plan has slightly benefited me in paying for my
prescriptions. Your Uncle Joe takes daily blood pressure medicine, and we were
paying over $100 a month for his blood pressure medicine. Besides those
prescriptions, I take daily vitamins that would not be covered with any insurance
plan.
Q: Would you rather have the traditional health care plan or Obamas current
plan?
A: Everyone knows that the Medicare plan seems perfect but in reality it isnt. I
do feel for those people whose taxes have paid for my insurance benefits. I think
that with a little more thought process from those who created Medicare it could
have been perfected but it is to late for that. I think people need to give Obamas
healthcare plan time to take positive affect.
When it comes to reforming the United States healthcare the changes are
becoming a lot like a European style of health care. Europeans have a universal coverage
plan and still spend thousands of dollars less, per person on healthcare annually
(Crumley, B). The opinion on the developing the socialized health care plan varies from
person to person. For someone who wants are health care to remain the same, the
National Center for Policy Analysts provides a list of statistics on why Americas health
care system is better off than people think. These statistics include: Americans have better
survival rates than Europeans and Canadians for common cancers, such as prostate
cancer and breast cancer; Americans have better access to cancer screening than
Canadians; 90% of American women have had a mammogram compared to only 72% of
Canadians; 30% of Americans have had a colonoscopy where as only 5% of Canadians
have; Americans spend less time waiting for health care and also have better access to
new technologies compared to Canada and Britain. These statistics prove that Americas
health care system still can provide for its citizens without a reform.
The amount of health care spendature put on senior citizens has ways to be
reduced, although these ways may not seem ideal. Senior citizens may end up retiring at a
later age then they first expected. In turn, that will provide the individual with money for
out of pocket expenses. The high number of elderly obtaining retirement benefits can be
to blame for the current health care crisis. Because of the lack of Medicare funding a
health care reform is in need to provide for the future of our generation. President Obama
and his succeeders must work to provide a health care system that will outlive the fiftyyear Medicare program. Without this health care reform system we will be left paying
every dime out of pocket.
Citations
Aizenman, N. (2011, May 13). Medicare funds. The Washington Post
Black, K. (2003). What are the different types of medicare. Retrieved from
www.wisegeek.com
Crumley, B. "New lessons from the old world." Time Magazine. 08 June 2009: 13. Print.
Glass, A. (2007, July 30). President johnson signs medicare bill . Retrieved from
www.politico.com
Rowland, D. (1996). Medicare, medicaid, and the elderly poor. Role of Medicare,
18(2), 61-85.