Ch. 9 Reflection, Week #5

Medicare and Medicaid can be extremely complicated. When I took Policy as part of my social work classes, we took a whole day to concentrate on Medicare and Medicaid. It is important for social workers to understand these available benefits because we are going to have clients who need our help navigating them. Some older adults have a hard enough time attempting to read the print, or find the correct link on the computer. The lingo is even harder to understand when you are attempting to figure what benefits you qualify for and what extra you can pay for. Hillier and Barrow (2011) state, "Medicare is the main insurer of people over 65 years of age: 95 percent of older persons are covered by Medicare hospital insurance, and 98 percent of those have supplementary medical insurance as well. Medicare require deductibles and 20 percent coinsurance for most services, which meets the financial criteria; supplemental private insurance purchased by the individual; or the individuals themselves. Medicaid has traditionally provided medical coverage for poor and disabled people". As it stated Medicare is the main insurer and there are many parts to it. Rising medical costs are making it harder for people to afford health care without tapping into Medicare. The elderly tend to need more medical care as they age, making paying for those services more difficult. However, like any insurance those who have more money, qualify for more coverage. Hillier and Barrow (2011) state, "Beyond question, those with greater financial resources have a broader range of options for health care services in later life. Because Medicare is an entitlement (provided categorically, not need based), people with higher income pay the same as those with limited income in terms of dollars, but the proportion of their income is much less".