Medicaid, Social Security, And Medicare Basics
Millions of people, in the USA, rely upon Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. These people could be elderly, disabled, pregnant, or children. The three programs provide health and income benefits to millions of Americans. Most of these people have also paid into the system before too. Take a moment to understand these three big programs so you can understand the issues today.
Take some time to learn a little bit about Social Security vs Medicare vs Medicaid!
What is social security? This is the US program that makes income payments to many millions of Americans. To qualify, recipients must meet the minimum requirements for having worked and contributed to the system, or they must be beneficiaries of people are. They must also meet age or disability qualifications. The traditional retirement age was 65 years old, but now that has been raised to 67 for many people who are still of working age.
For example, if you worked for the required amount of time, and contributed to the system, you should qualify for benefits. However, a spouse of somebody who qualified may also get benefits upon the death of the spouse.
Taxes to pay for the plan come from current worker contributions. Beneficiaries who are retired because of age or disability contributed to the system in the past, but their taxes paid for people who got benefits then.
To be clear, taxes you pay now are not really going towards your future benefits, but to current benefits. These current recipients were past contributors. Because of this, they have some right to feel entitled to their benefits.
What is Medicare? This is the US health insurance program for seniors and disabled people. The basic program only pays a portion of health costs, but it does cover things like doctors, hospital stays, and prescriptions. Many people supplement these benefits with private Medicare health plans too.
This is also paid for with taxes. It is probably fair to say that current taxes pay for current benefits. Retired people have worked in the past, and so they did pay their share of taxes to support the program. However, their taxes paid for past benefits.
How is Medicaid different from these other programs? Medicaid is different. The Medicaid program is health insurance for people with few assets and a very low income. These people may also have to meet other qualifications too. Examples of people who qualify are those who are pregnant, disabled, or young children.
Some people do collect from both Medicare and Medicaid. This is because they qualify for Medicare and Medicaid. For instance, a low income senior citizen who is also disabled could qualify. This is quite common. Medicaid pays the tabs on a large percentage of US nursing care.Because Medicaid is a state and federal effort, it is paid for by state and federal tax money today. The federal government provides support, but the program is mostly run at the state level.
Why are these programs in the news now? The number of recipients of these three programs is very large and growing. These three plans provide benefits for several million people in the US. However, the price tag is quite high for the rest of the people. You must understand that a majority of beneficiaries have paid tax money into these programs in the past. It is probably fair for them to feel some entitlement now.
Take some time to learn a little bit about Social Security vs Medicare vs Medicaid!
What is social security? This is the US program that makes income payments to many millions of Americans. To qualify, recipients must meet the minimum requirements for having worked and contributed to the system, or they must be beneficiaries of people are. They must also meet age or disability qualifications. The traditional retirement age was 65 years old, but now that has been raised to 67 for many people who are still of working age.
For example, if you worked for the required amount of time, and contributed to the system, you should qualify for benefits. However, a spouse of somebody who qualified may also get benefits upon the death of the spouse.
Taxes to pay for the plan come from current worker contributions. Beneficiaries who are retired because of age or disability contributed to the system in the past, but their taxes paid for people who got benefits then.
To be clear, taxes you pay now are not really going towards your future benefits, but to current benefits. These current recipients were past contributors. Because of this, they have some right to feel entitled to their benefits.
What is Medicare? This is the US health insurance program for seniors and disabled people. The basic program only pays a portion of health costs, but it does cover things like doctors, hospital stays, and prescriptions. Many people supplement these benefits with private Medicare health plans too.
This is also paid for with taxes. It is probably fair to say that current taxes pay for current benefits. Retired people have worked in the past, and so they did pay their share of taxes to support the program. However, their taxes paid for past benefits.
How is Medicaid different from these other programs? Medicaid is different. The Medicaid program is health insurance for people with few assets and a very low income. These people may also have to meet other qualifications too. Examples of people who qualify are those who are pregnant, disabled, or young children.
Some people do collect from both Medicare and Medicaid. This is because they qualify for Medicare and Medicaid. For instance, a low income senior citizen who is also disabled could qualify. This is quite common. Medicaid pays the tabs on a large percentage of US nursing care.Because Medicaid is a state and federal effort, it is paid for by state and federal tax money today. The federal government provides support, but the program is mostly run at the state level.
Why are these programs in the news now? The number of recipients of these three programs is very large and growing. These three plans provide benefits for several million people in the US. However, the price tag is quite high for the rest of the people. You must understand that a majority of beneficiaries have paid tax money into these programs in the past. It is probably fair for them to feel some entitlement now.
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