Research Paper on "Medicare Benefits for the Elderly Impact of Benefits on a Younger Population"

Research Paper 3 pages (1087 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Medicare Benefits for the Elderly: Impacts of Benefit on a Younger Population

The health cares system was, until the last few decades, managed by a fee for system (FSS) i.e. people paid for services. Comparatively recently, this has changed to one that is a managed care system although the brunt of it is still fee-for-service. Problems with the FFS are numerous including the fact that there is discrimination in health delivery with great swaths of the population receiving inadequate or utter lack of care and with health services being questionable and of limited value. Costs are held down by three kinds of services: Health Management Organizations (HMOS), Independent Practice Associations (IPA), and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO). One of the publicly funded programs that partially reduce cost of health insurance is Medicare that is slanted to the elderly (65 years and older).

Because Medicare not only has gaps in coverage, but also demonstrates spiraling costs, observers have noted that it is the wealthy elderly rather than the poor younger individuals who mostly benefit from Medicare support. Further research shows that disproportionate attention is paid to certain sectors of the population (for instance, the elderly may receive more attention than maternity), and to that extent Medicare, whilst benefiting the elderly, simultaneously negatively impacts a younger, just as needy, population.

Until now, observers have used average income to measure a person's economic status and have argued that Medicare benefits flow to the rich elderly rather than to the poor. Bhattacharya and Lakdawalla (2006). argue the reverse saying that economic statue fluctuates and is idiosyncratic, therefore, relying on educational attainment as a more accurate measure for evaluating and demarcating the difference between 'advantaged' and 'disadvantaged' population. Using various algorithms, they estimated that college students, and particularly young individuals, receive less Medicare benefits than do the elderly, more impoverished individuals who did not attend college or were high-school dropouts. This is so, even though some young individuals, attending college or higher education, cannot afford (or can barley afford) their own insurance. Yet, the fact that one receives an education automatically implies that the individual is wealthier than one who cannot afford college and, therefore, the latter received Medicare whilst the former is exempt.

Whilst McClellan and Skinner (1997; cited by Bhattacharya and Lakdawalla (2006)) found that financial returns of Medicare are much higher for advantaged groups both in absolute and in aggregate terms, as an accumulated percentage of their life's income, Bhattacharya and Lakdawalla (2006) argued that the more uneducated the individual, the greater the amount of Medicare benefits that he or she received. High-school dropouts, consequently, receive a higher gradient of Medicare benefits than do college graduates. Since possibility of receiving Medicare is assessed by measures of a certain economic input -- that the author's show is related to education - consequently, it is the younger, rather than the elderly population, who yield the brunt of the burden of Medicare. And much of these younger individuals who are covering the burden are struggling to pay for their college education are abetted by parents who are giving their all to ensure that their children attend a decent school college, or university.

Furthermore, Medicare institutes that it is the elderly poor in America, 65 years and older who can… READ MORE

How to Reference "Medicare Benefits for the Elderly Impact of Benefits on a Younger Population" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

Glaxowellcome Introducing a Second Migraine Medication? Case Study

GlaxoWellcome introducing a second migraine medication?

With the vast opportunity to capture a wider and untapped market on prescription medication intended for migraines, GlaxoWellcome introduced a second migraine medication, Naramig/Amerge… read more

Case Study 2 pages (544 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Medicine / Pharmacy

---

Social Services for the Elderly Term Paper

Elderly

Social services for the elderly are in greater need than they ever have been before as the population is aging greatly. A gradual aging trend, that began in the… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2244 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Family / Dating / Marriage

---

Cost Benefit Analysis and Risk Assessment Essay

Benefit Analysis and Risk Assessment

The Future of Health Care Costs in Canada

The heath care systems play an increasingly important role within the contemporaneous societies. More money is being… read more

Essay 13 pages (3778 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

Does Society Have a Legal Obligation to Its Senior Citizens? Term Paper

Society & the Elderly

The American population is growing older -- due in large part to the aging of the "baby boomer" generation -- and the issues that surround the… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3904 words) Sources: 12 Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

Elderly Living Arrangements Thesis

elderly are among the fastest growing segments of the population in the United States today. Moreover, this growth is projected to continue well into the mid-21st century as the baby… read more

Thesis 16 pages (4464 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Aging / Death / Gerontology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>