Medicare refers to a program of federal health insurance for individuals who are 65 years and above, some young persons having disabilities, as well as individuals with terminal diseases as permanent kidney failure needing transplant or dialysis at times, referred as ESRD (Kronenfeld, 2011).
Medicare does not offer comprehensive coverage to all needs of health care. However, it caters for certain preventive services, besides, covers a number of medically significant services. Medicare does not cover many routine services, for example, yearly physicals, or things such as hearing aids, glasses, or long run care within a nursing home or at home.
Medicare can be described in sections or parts, each referring to a distinct aspect of drug delivery or medical. The parts include Medicare part A or hospital insurance, Medicare part B or Medicare insurance, and Medicare advantage plans or Medicare part C, as well as Medicare part D or prescription drug coverage. Hospital insurance covers inpatient hospital/facility stays, care within a skilled hospice care, nursing facility, and certain home health care. In addition, medical insurance covers some services of doctors, medical supplies, outpatient care, and preventive services.
Medicare part C denotes a Medicare health program/plan given by a private firm, which contracts Medicare in giving clients all part A as well as part B benefits. Part C involves Health Maintenance Organizations, Special Needs Plans, Preferred provider Organizations, Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans, and Private Free-for-Service Plans. A client enrolled within part C is covered via the plan, which are not serviced for in Original Medicare. Part C gives prescription drug coverage (Kronenfeld, 2011).
In part D, prescription drug coverage is added to original Medicare, Medicare Private-Free-for-Service, Medicare Cost Plans, plus MMSAP (Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans). Insurance firms give the plans as well as other private firms approved by Medicare. Besides, prescription drug coverage is offered by Medicare Advantage Plans and follows similar rules as Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Kronenfeld, 2011).
References
Kronenfeld, J. J. (2011). Medicare. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood.
