Please answer to this discussion post with a minimum of 200 words, APA Style, and no plagiarism._______________________________________________________Access to healthcare is a primal right of each citizen. The government has adopted various strategies to help make healthcare more affordable to citizens across all walks of life. Medicare and Medicaid are those strategies which the state has used in order to make sure that healthcare is accessible to all.Medicare is a health program funded by the United States government which is available for its citizens, legal residents who have lived in the US for at least 5 years or persons that are above the age of 65 (Klosko, 2017). Medicare has been in existence for more than 50 years and has acted as a bedrock of health security to most Americans by providing essential health benefits that a majority of the patients need but cannot afford. Before it was launched, very few Americans could afford insurance in order to help pay their health bills. Insurance was not as accessible as it is today as it involved very high premiums (Biles, Guterman, and Casillas, 2016). In some cases, individuals were denied insurance due to age or a preexisting health condition.One of the major reasons why Medicare is preferred to Medicaid is because it is structured to help the low income households who may be in dire need of health services but cannot afford. Medicare is categorized into two, that is Medicare A and Medicare B. Medicare is hospital insurance which covers inpatient services which is basically healthcare received in a health institution or nursing facility. Medicare Part B is medical insurance which covers outpatient services, laboratory visits and preventive care. Medicare is structured this way so that the beneficiaries can select their most convenient option (Klosko, 2017).Other benefits of Medicare include low monthly premiums which are quite affordable. Another advantage is that it is broadly accepted in hospitals. In addition, it is also flexible when choosing a preferred healthcare provider (Biles, Guterman, and Casillas, 2016). As a result, I feel that Medicare has had a great impact to the people of Florida.ReferencesBiles, B. B., Guterman, S. G., & Casillas, G. C. (2016). Are Medicare Advantage Plans Lower-Cost Than Traditional Medicare? doi:10.15868/socialsector.25061Klosko, G. (2017). Medicare and Medicaid. Oxford Scholarship Online. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199973415.003.0008
