Health Insurance Reform

Health Insurance Reform

Due to the upcoming presidential election, the two major political parties and

their candidates have been focusing on the primary problems that the nation will face in

the future. Chief among those problems is the future of Medicare, the national health-

insurance plan. Medicare was enacted in 1965, under the administration of Lyndon B.

Johnson, in order to provide health insurance for retired citizens and the disabled. The

Medicare program covers most people aged sixty-five or older, as well as handicapped

people who enroll in the program and consists of two health plans: a hospital insurance

plan and a medical insurance plan. Before Medicare, many Americans didn't have health

insurance coverage, but since its inception the program has enrolled almost forty million

beneficiaries, who jointly fund the insurance program along with the national

government.

According to Dr. Don McCanne, a member of the Board of Directors of

Physicians for a National Health Program, before the passage of Medicare in 1965, only

52% of persons age sixty-five and over had hospital insurance and less than 15% had

adequate health insurance. The Medicare program has improved access to healthcare and

improved the quality of life for millions of elderly members and has provided insurance

for millions of people with disabilities. By reducing the burden of large medical bills,

Medicare also has improved the economic status of the elderly. As Dorothy Price points

out, over its thirty-three year history, Medicare has channeled billions of dollars into the

health care system helping to foster enormous improvements in health care technology

and medical education. Unfortunately though, the program is now facing two major

problems: beneficiaries are still having trouble in finding affordable care and the

Medicare program itself is not properly funded.

As a result of these problems,... [continues]

Read full essay