Discussion Week 5- Social Security and Medicare

According to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2013), Medicare was initially

established in 1965 to provide health insurance to individuals age 65 and older, regardless of

income or medical history (p.606). Medicare has expanded over the years and now covers

those under the age of 65 with permanent disabilities receiving Social Security Disability

Insurance (SSDI), with end-stage renal disease, and with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

(The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013). According to Delgado (2015), if current

patterns do not change, baby boomers will be drawing Social Security benefits approximately

one-third of their lives. With increased aging and retirement of this population, program

enrollment is expected to almost double by 2030, covering approximately 80 million persons

(Delgado, 2015).

Due to increasing cost of healthcare, the aging United States population, declining ratio

of workers to beneficiaries, and all other economic factors, total Medicare spending is projected

to nearly double by 2020, costing an astounding $1,038 billion (The Henry J. Kaiser Family

Foundation, 2013). Which leads one to wonder, how much longer will the current system work,

and how will the future Social Security and Medicaid programs be funded? The Henry J. Kaiser

Family Foundation (2013), explain that the government has taken measures to preserve

Medicare. Some of these measures include reducing federal payments to Medicare Advantage

Plans, annual Medicare payments to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health

agencies, as well as reducing payments for unnecessary hospital readmissions and hospital-

acquired infections (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013). Other measures being

discussed on Social Security Reform include raising the retirement age, altering cost of living

adjustments, means-testing benefits, increasing the payroll tax cap, and privatizing social
security (Delgado, 2015). Delgado (2015) reports that suggested implementation by Congress of

raising the retirement age to sixty-eight by 2027 would result in a twenty-three percent reduction

in the savings gap. He goes on to states that by increasing the retirement age to seventy, there

could be a thirty-three percent reduction (Delgado, 2015). Although I am not overly excited

about the thoughts of working full time until seventy, he brings up a valid point. I am not sure

what a good answer is to this dilemma, but regardless whether one perfect solution is found,

several small changes overtime could add up to help diminish the problem.

Delgado, M. (2015). Baby Boomers of Color: Implications for Social Work Policy and Practice.

Doi: 10.7312/columbia/9780231163019.001.0001

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2013). Medicare: A primer, 2010. In C. L. Estes, S. A.

Chapman, C. Dodd, B. Hollister, & C. Harrington (Eds.), Health Policy: Crisis and

Reform (6th ed.), (pp. 606-616). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Linda,

I agree with your statement regarding not knowing what a good answer is concerning the

dilemma our nation is currently facing with the aging population and their entitled benefits. I

think you brought up some valid thoughts in relation to the increasing cost of prescription drugs

in our nation. I found a very interesting article relating to the possible cause of the increase in

these costs. According to Dave and Saffer (2012), the United States and New Zealand are the

only countries currently allowing marketing such as television advertisement when it comes to

the pharmaceutical industry. Dave and Saffer (2012) also report, mean prices across drug
classes weighted by expenditures indicate that the price of non-advertised drugs is about 44%

lower relative to that of advertised drug (p. 124). I assume by this statement, the consumer is

essentially paying for the pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products. This leaves me

curious to investigate this matter further to see if there is factual truth to this statement. It also

leads me to wonder, if non-advertised medications have similar, or same, results as advertised

medications, why not just prescribe non-advertised medications in order to help cut cost for the

patient? This goes off the subject, but in some clinical sites I have been in, I have noticed drug

reps are there promoting their product daily. Does the provider get some sort of incentive, or

kickback, for prescribing the drugs that are being pushed?

Dave, D. & Saffer, H. (2012). Impact of direct-to-consumer advertising on pharmaceutical prices

and demand. Southern Economic Journal, 79(1), 97-126. Doi: 10.4284/0038-4038-

79.1.97

Christina,

I enjoyed reading your post and the question you posed about beneficiaries paying

possible premiums for Medicare part A in the future. Medicare Part A is also known as the

Hospital Insurance program, which covers inpatient hospital services, skilled nursing facilities,

home health care, as well as hospice care (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013). I read

an interesting and enlightening article that used Medicare Part A data published by the Agency

for Healthcare Research and Quality, which performed a retrospective study on hospitalization

rates for hypertension in the United States among geographical area and race (Will, Nwaise,

Schieb, & Zhong, 2014). One aspect of their results showed that there were high rates of white

people hospitalized for hypertension in parts of the Appalachia area. The patient population that

many of us will be serving is right in the heart of the Appalachian area. Therefore, I feel that it is
essential, as future healthcare providers in that we base the foundation of our practice on patient

education, which focuses on disease prevention and health promotion. By doing this, hopefully

we could make a difference in our patients lives.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (2013). Medicare: A primer, 2010. In C. L. Estes, S. A.

Chapman, C. Dodd, B. Hollister, & C. Harrington (Eds.), Health Policy: Crisis and

Reform (6th ed.), (pp. 606-616). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Will, J. C., Nwaise, I. A., Schieb, L., & Zhong, Y. (2014). Geographic and racial patterns of

preventable hospitalizations for hypertension: Medicare beneficiaries, 2004-2009. Public

Health Reports (1974-), 129(1), 8-18. Retrieved from:

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.king.edu/stable/pdf/23646829.pdf