About Medicare

Medicare is a national social insurance program, administered by the U.S. federal government since 1965, that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older and younger people with disabilities as well as people with end stage renal disease. As a social insurance program, Medicare spreads the financial risk associated with illness across society to protect everyone, and thus has a somewhat different social role from private insurers, which must manage their risk portfolio to guarantee their own solvency.^[1]

Medicare offers all enrollees a defined benefit. Hospital care is covered under Part A and outpatient medical services are covered under Part B. To cover the Part A and Part B benefits, Medicare offers a choice between an open-network single payer health care plan (traditional Medicare) and a network plan (Medicare Advantage, or Medicare Part C), where the federal government pays for private health coverage. A majority of Medicare enrollees have traditional Medicare (76 percent) over a Medicare Advantage plan (24 percent). Medicare Part D covers outpatient prescription drugs exclusively through private plans, either standalone prescription drug plans or through Medicare Advantage plans that offer prescription drugs.

LINK TO MEDICARE HOME PAGE

Quotes about Medicare

1. The relentless rise in brand name drug prices also has implications for taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

   In Brand Name Drug Prices Increasing Dramatically

2. Our job is to make sure every single Medicare beneficiary knows about and takes advantage of these benefits. So we are announcing a multimedia approach to get the word out.

   Kathleen Sebelius in Many Skip Medicare's Free Preventive Care

3. Having a person in Medicare go without a potentially lifesaving test because they do not know it is available at no cost is just as bad as them skipping it because they cannot afford it.

   Kathleen Sebelius in Many Skip Medicare's Free Preventive Care