Question

Describe how government contracting and payments for health care developed and subsequently evolved since the enactment of Medicare in the 1960's and how has it susequently evolved into today's system. Provide two examples of how health care contracting is similar and/or dissimilar to other forms of government contracting.

Answer 1

The enactment of Medicare

Medicare is a government program that provides health and medical insurance for US citizens who lie above age 65 or living with disabilities. Funding of medicare directly comes from SECA and FICA. Medicare has served as a guard and is considered to be the lifeline for the American citizens helping them to cope up with the illness and poverty in their old age. Today Millions of people have enrolled themselves in the medicare program which shows that they have greater trust in the federal government and they themselves are getting greater advantage from the medicare facilities.

Medicare is a federal government program that plays a very important and crucial role in eliminating poverty/disease and maintaining the health security of the citizens of the country. Medicare has become known as a social institution which helps in shaping the lives of the citizen as well as providing them with physicians, hospitals, and doctors, medicines for a long period of time. Medicare has been easily adjusted and subsequently evolved into the Nation's social and health welfare system. Medicare focuses on promoting the quality of the remaining life of senior citizens/ disabled persons with having short term as well as long term financial plans for them.

The medicare system is followed in three parts: hospital, pharmaceutical, and medical. Each has its own significance and followed with home health services, doctors and physicians, outpatient care, etc. It also assures guaranteed health insurance coverage for persons with disabilities as well as senior citizens which makes the program important in its own way.

The Medicare program consists of two parts :

• Part A and Part B: It mainly focuses on medical and hospital insurance and the security of the member. It also includes tests, hospital rooms, wheelchairs, nursing facilities, therapies, etc. It mainly focuses on the supply of prescription medicines and the ease and flexibility in providing those medicines. For example treatment and vaccinations, inoculation, ambulatory care or outpatient care, doctors and nurses visits, ambulance, chemotherapy/ chemotherapeutics, organ transplants, disability services
• Part C and Part D: These two parts also known as Medicare Advantage Plans permits the user to customize their medicare plan and use it for long term benefits.

Each part mentioned above has its own eligibility and advantage. There have also been many changes in the Medicare program since it has been introduced in the system. Changes in demographics and population of the country will heavily impact on Medicare and its facilities, budgets, and enrollments. As the number of older citizens will grow, there will be many new enrollments for the program which will bring new challenges for the system.

Having said the advantages and importance of the salient Medicare program, it is likely that Medicare will face certain challenges and issues in the future. Some of the factors that need to be taken care of in the future are as follows:

• Promoting Quality care and organized health care systems: Medicare also needs to focus on providing quality care and medical services to its members. Since international competition has been increased tremendously, medicare needs to focus on prioritizing its quality care and services.
• Medicare trust funds: Medicare trust funds need to be utilized in a productive manner as it has certain financing objectives for the system. An increase in the rate of medicare programs directly affects the global competition among other countries as well as the jobs of the citizens. Medicare trust funds need to be preserved in such a way that the insolvency of these funds can be avoided in the long run.
• Encourage or aggrandize health care facilities: The growing concern among the elderly is that the program should provide an effective and efficient service to all its enrolled members. Medicare runs by the objective of promoting and taking care of its enrolled members effectively and efficiently and providing the necessary services in need. Also, an important piece of information regarding the program must be conveyed to its members in order to keep the trust and transparency between them.

Medicare is considered to be one of the country's most highly valued programs that have a direct impact on the citizens and society. The main challenge for the future for medicare is to focus on maintaining transparency and solvency of the funds and providing the quality health care facilities and services for the population and country as a whole.

Examples of health care contracting similar to the government are health care community centers, hospitals, medical offices, laboratories, and medical institutions, clinics, etc