Medicare and Medicaid Services

Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Health insurance coverage has been an essential element in the United States since the start of the 20th century. At first, the government provided health insurance at the state level but this proved to be ineffective. The federal government came in and provided some insurance through the Social Security Act. However, these efforts proved futile because only a small portion of the population was catered for. During and after World War II, the need for health insurance increased tremendously which led to increased private insurance. The need for federal participation in financing health insurance grew as time went on, and various legislations passed to provide a national health insurance for the citizens, especially the needy such as aged individuals and mothers. In 1965, Congress passed the Medicare and Medicaid programs as Title XVIII and Title XIX respectively, creating better national health insurance coverage. These programs are contained in the Social Security Act, and managed by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which is under the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Medicare program covers close to 96 percent of the country`s aged population, as well as people who are on Social Security because of disability. The program was intended for the aged individuals to complement the retirement, survivors, and disability insurance of the Social Security Act. Additiona…