Is Medicare a Good Deal

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For most Americans Medicare is a good deal. If you can qualify for the federal health insurance program your health insurance will probably cost less. Unfortunately there are some severe limitations to the program that you should be aware of.

 

For very high-income people Medicare may not be a good deal for the average middle or working class person who is retiring or about to retire it is a very good deal. Many people will not realize how good a deal it is until they actually get on the program. Despite all of the disadvantages and the potential future problems, Medicare is still a very good deal for the average retired person.

 

Advantages to Medicare

There are several advantages to the federal program that make it an extremely good deal for average people. A Medicare Part B premium only cost around $99 for the average person in 2012. The average single person in the United States in 2012 paid around $250 a month for private health insurance.

 

Many people will not realize this because their employer provides health insurance. What they may not realize is that the cost of insurance provided by your employer is taken out of your salary. Therefore the program is a bargain even with what is not covered and the cost of prescription drug programs.

 

An even bigger advantage is that you cannot be turned down or thrown off the program. Most private health insurance programs will turn you down if you have certain preexisting conditions. Some insurers will terminate coverage for individuals with certain conditions. Nor will persons with preexisting conditions have to pay extra for the policy.

 

There is also no requirement to get a physical or blood tests to go on Medicare. Many insurers will require certain people to get such tests to get a policy. Therefore the program has a lot of advantages that private insurance lacks but there are some drawbacks to it.

 

Drawbacks to Medicare

The biggest drawback to Medicare is what it will not cover long nursing-home stays, long-term care, most in-home nursing services, vision and dentistry are not covered. Persons will need to purchase additional policies to pay for these or cover the costs out of their own pockets.

 

Many new procedures and experimental procedures are not covered by the program either. There are also deductibles associated with Medicare that many people are not aware. Many Part D drug plans come with a deductible that can be as $300. That means the policyholder has to buy $300 worth of prescriptions before the plan starts reimbursing him.

 

Since it is a government program there is a bureaucracy and a great deal of paperwork associated with it. This can be confusing and often frustrating. It can be very hard to determine if services or actually covered. There are also many doctors that refuse to take Medicare because of the costs and hassle associated with it.

 

Future of Medicare

The future of Medicare is very uncertain. Although it is improbable that Congress would abolish the program or let it collapse because of lack of funding. Major changes or reforms will be required for it to survive into the future. Additional taxes or higher premiums could be required to fully fund it in the future. Another change that has been discussed has been to increase the age of eligibility to 67 or higher. Finally there is a possibility that coverage could be expanded to more or even all Americans. Only the future will tell if such changes are possible or not.

 

Even with the possibility of all these changes, Medicare is still a very good deal for most retirees. It would be insane for the average person not to take advantage of it.