Medicare is a public health insurance program. It primarily targets individuals aged 65 years and older. However, it also covers individuals under the age of 65 with certain disabilities and all individuals with end-stage renal disease. There are several parts of the Medicare program. These are part A which covers hospital insurance, part B which covers medical insurance as well as the prescription drug coverage. For part A, most individuals don’t remit any premium since they already paid through their payroll taxes (CMS.gov, 2014). It mainly covers inpatient care as well as hospice care. Part B requires remittance of monthly premiums which covers doctors’ services and outpatient care. The prescription drugs coverage also requires remittance of monthly premiums and avails Medicare prescription drugs to beneficiaries.
The 3Es analysis of the Medicare program involves an evaluation of its efficiency, effectiveness and equity. Efficiency addresses a program or system in terms of whether it is doing things appropriately. It is a measure of how well a system is making use of its resources (Rouse & Serban, 2014). Within healthcare, efficiency addresses the production as well as the allocation of health care services (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). The efficiency of the Medicare program involves a look at whether it is utilizing its resources in the best and most appropriate manner possible. The currently available data indicates that Medicare suffers from the remittance of improper payments. This represents a use of resources in a manner that is not the best possible. Nonetheless, Medicare still makes substantial appropriate payments and despite some of its inefficiencies, it can be described as being generally efficient.
Effectiveness on the other deals with whether a system or program is doing what it should be doing. It looks at how well a system is achieving its objectives (Rouse & Serban, 2014). Within healthcare programs, it addresses the extent to which attainable improvements are actually attained (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). It can be analyzed at the clinical (micro) level by looking at the health of individuals, or at the population (macro) level, by exploring changes in the health of the general population (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). Medicare improves the health of its beneficiaries by reducing the cost of access. It caters for 80% of the total cost (Aronovitz, 2007). This enables individuals to access healthcare by paying the remaining 20 % and in this manner Medicare improves health care.
The final ‘E’ is equity which looks at how fair a program is. It deals with allocation of resources, achievement of outcomes and delivery, and whether fairness is attained (Rouse & Serban, 2014). Within healthcare, equity implies a maximization of fairness and a minimization of health disparities across groups (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). Medicare is an equitable scheme since it allows all members to benefit. Any individual above the age of 65 qualifies for Medicare. Since individuals within this bracket as well as disabled individuals face certain setbacks that inhibit their ability to secure healthcare, Medicare mitigates disparities by providing them with a means through which they can access the same.
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