Who Is Eligible For Medicare?

Words: 1964
Pages: 8

Chapter 7:
1. Who is eligible for Medicare? Person eligible for Medicare include individuals ages sixty-five and over, those with disabilities, and those with end-stage renal disease (Hammaker, 2011). here are three basic entitlement categories: persons 65 years of age or over who are eligible for retirement under Social Security or the railroad retirement system, persons under 65 years of age who have been entitled for at least 2 years to disability benefits under Social Security or the railroad retirement system, and persons with ESRD who do not otherwise meet the age or disability requirements. The latter two groups together are known as the "under 65" enrollees (Petrie, 1992).
2. As the baby boomers approach age sixty-five, how

As these changes have taken place, local and state governments have struggled to keep up with the changes and in many cases have begun to question whether the new entities are truly deserving of the tax exemption at all (Chestek, 2000).
2. On what grounds have patients begun to sue tax-exempt hospitals? What has the litigation encouraged some hospitals to do?

Patients have begun to sue tax-exempt hospitals, sometimes through class-action lawsuits, claiming the hospitals violate their charitable missions by overcharging uninsured and underinsured patients, price gouging, and employing overly aggressive debt-collection methods; this litigation has encouraged some hospitals to improve their pricing, billing, and collection methods before being sued (Hammaker, 2011).
3. At what level do government-assistance programs reimburse tax-exempt hospitals? What are the consequences?

Government-assistance programs often do not reimburse tax-exempt hospitals enough to cover the actual cost of care rendered, forcing such hospitals to write off the remaining bad debt. One way tax-exempt hospitals might improve upon collecting their accounts receivable is to familiarize patients in advance of treatment with the costs and provide clear, detailed bills. Other ways