reply 1 There various components to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Three of the major of the Medicare program include Part A, Part B, and Part D. Part A is known as the hospital insurance as it c

reply 1

There various components to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Three of the major of the Medicare program include Part A, Part B, and Part D. Part A is known as the hospital insurance as it covers inpatient hospital services, hospice care, and home health care among other services (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], 2020). It should be noted that Part A only covers medications that a patient gets while the patient is hospitalized. Part A does not cover the whole length of stay at a skilled nursing facility. Part B covers services that are provided by a doctor (CMS, 2020). The problem with this part of the program, is that people have to pay a premium. Part D covers prescription drugs. There is a coverage gap in Part D which kicks in when a person reaches $4,020 in total drug costs (Austin & Wetle, 2017).

I argue that the Social Security program needs to be drastically changed. This program has to be improved as there are many issues associated with it. There is a possibility that the money in this program can run out. Benefits have to be improved for those who need it the most, while those who do not need benefits more than others should have their benefits reduced. There also has to be more done to address the issue of fraud.

Reply 2

The major components of Medicare include inpatient/hospital coverage, outpatient coverage, and alternate ways of receiving Medicare. The three components of Medicaid are family care, nursing home care, and personal care. The gap in Medicaid is that its reach has not benefitted some citizens in the states which have not fully embraced its expansion owing to the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling, which indicated that the coverage was optional (Segal et al., 2014). This has let the promise of widening coverage to lower-income families and individuals under the Affordable Care Act not met, leaving many people with no health security. The other gap is that even for patients who are covered, the program does not fully meet the patient costs, and they have to rely on some health insurance. If you can’t afford a policy, you are still not covered adequately. The gaps in Medicare is the limited extent it has on prescription costs, requiring that patients meet some part of the drug costs. So for people with limited income or no income at all, they are exposed. The second one is that it has limited coverage for traveling risks of health. In my view, social Security program is hugely relevant to the American public, need to be expanded as well as beefed up to serve as many as possible. This is because the programs help accord people easy post-retirement life as it gives them income, medical care (Segal et al., 2014). It also gives them a choice when they want to receive benefits and allows eligible non-working spouses to receive benefits. The program should be modified to expand its reach and its services enhanced to make life secure post-retirement.