Medicare started in 1965 after it was legislated as a Social Security program amendment. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (The CMS) administers it for the Human Services department.
More than 43 million American citizens receive their medical insurance coverage from Medicare. A lot of them would otherwise not have medical insurance.
Even if the Medicare program is not quite perfect, millions of people rely on it to be sure of basic insurance at a relatively low cost. It doesn't offer much in terms of preventive care. Dental care, vision care or an annual physical are not part of the Medicare program.
Payroll tax deductions of an amount of 2.9% of the wages pay the money Medicare works from. Half paid by the employee and the other half by the employer.
Medicare is divided in four pieces:
Part A - Hospital coverage
Part B - Medical insurance
Part C - Supplemental coverage
Part D - Prescription insurance
An added cost is required for part C and part D. these are not required. Part A and B don't pay the full costs of medical care. Usually there is a premium, co-pay and a deductible. There is Medicaid for those who qualify. It is there to assist paying part of the bill for people with low-income.
There have been made predictions that the system will run out of money around 2018. This is caused by more people retiring and becoming eligible for Medicare. The costs of Health care are on the rise, adding to the cost of Medicare. Fraud has been a major problem for the program as well.
A viable solution to save the system is yet to be proposed, and much needed for the many people around the country that make use of the program.
Jeff Surean understands the importance of good health. He covers insurance and health care related issues on his blog World Insurance [http://www.worldinsurancesite.com/]. He tries to help people save money with their Health Savings Account [http://www.worldinsurancesite.com/2010/02/save-money-with-your-health-savings-account/] and get the most out of their insurance.
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