Since the introduction of Medicare in 1965, millions of seniors and people with disabilities have enjoyed health care security. However, as successful as the Medicare program has been, it is still unable to keep up with decades of improvement in the health care field. Today, Medicare provides health care coverage for 40 million Americans and is expected to reach 70 million by 2031 (Medicare+...2003). With the price of health care rising and the Baby boom generation nearing the age of retirement, Medicare and the nation faces serious economic challenges. This will require the best use of today's modern health care delivery methods while increasing the sustainability of the program. President Bush believes it is the moral obligation of the nation to provide quality health care to seniors and people with disabilities. This driving force is the reason that President Bush wants to bring the Medicare system into the 21st century with his Medicare program.
English: image edited to hide card's owner name. a...
English: President signing the Medicare Bill at th...
Gang of Six - CartoonPresident Bush's Medicare program will provide more choices and better benefits to current and future participants while still maintaing a reasonable budget.
Medicare is a Federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older, individuals who are permanently disabled, or those who have End Stage Renal Disease. End Stage Renal Disease is the permanent failure of the kidney that requires dialysis or transplant. However, Medicare only pays for part of the health care bills that today's seniors and disabled face. Today's Medicare beneficiaries lack many of the choices and benefits that previous Medicare recipients enjoyed. Medicare also does not provide an outpatient prescription drug benefit. Twenty-four percent of Medicare patients have no drug coverage and many more have limited coverage (Facts...2003). This forces many seniors to go without the medicine that they need to survive. Another drawback to the current Medicare system is...