According to “part of the Social Security Act; Medicare provides health care insurance (including hospitalization) for elderly and patients with disabilities; Medicaid provides health care for the indigent” (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 28).  To qualify for Medicare, the individual must be over “65 and is eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, is permanently disabled, or has end-stage renal disease” (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 49).  Medicare components are Part A, Part B, and Part C. Medicare Part A “is hospital insurance … covers inpatient hospital services, critical access hospitals, skilled nursing facilities (not custodial or long term), limited and medically necessary home health care services, and hospice” (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 49).  If a person paid Medicare taxes while employed, they do not have to pay any premiums for Part A coverage.  Medicare Part B “covers physician services, outpatient hospital care, and some services and supplies (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 50).  Part B coverage is paid for on a monthly basis by the person who chooses it.  To save expenses, the Medicare program has undergone several changes, “As part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Part C, known as Medicare+Choice, was added to Medicare, Medicare+Choice offered individuals a variety of managed care-type options to provide the services covered under Parts A and B” (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 50).   Numerous specific improvements were implemented due to the Affordable Care Act, including the closure of the coverage gap in Medicare Part D and the improvement of coverage of preventive services. Medicare states that “most Medicare drug plans have a coverage gap (also called the “donut hole”), this means there’s a temporary limit on what the drug plan will cover for drugs” (Costs in the coverage gap | Medicare, n.d.). An example is “in 2018 Medicare Part D beneficiaries who pay more than $3,750 a year on prescriptions, but less than $5,000 are subject to what is known as the coverage gap” (Sullivan, 2018).

Austin & Wetle (2016) explains that Medicaid has undergone significant changes due to the Affordable Care Act, and it is currently the most common form of public health insurance (p.51). Now, the federal government and the states share responsibility for the administration of the program. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there has been a significant expansion on the requirements to be eligible for Medicaid. Benefits are classified into three categories under federal law. The first component covers the “hospital and physician services. The second component of “benefits is those the state may cover, this can include pharmaceutical, dental, and eye care coverage” (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 52). Lastly, “the third group benefits the state may not provide” (Austin & Wetle, 2016, p. 52). The coverage gap for Medicaid is, “adults who fall into the coverage gap have incomes above their state’s eligibility for Medicaid but below poverty, the minimum income eligibility for tax credits through the ACA marketplace” (Garfield et al., 2016).

I don’t know very much about the social security program, other than supposedly, by 2033, it would have run out of money. I think it is an excellent program for those who have planned their future accordingly and can receive money while there is still some. The money isn’t enough though, in my opinion, my mother just did early retirement, but she planned her life, so her house is paid for, she doesn’t have a car note, her monthly income is $2435.  Which is not a lot if you have bills like rent, credit debt, car notes, etc. The only problem is that having social security fixed requires raising payroll taxes, which still doesn’t guarantee it won’t be depleted, because more people are taking out than putting in money.