In the 1950's, Social Security officials realized that older Americans were facing a health crisis. The need for a social insurance program to provide older Americans with health care coverage promoted much debate during the 1950's and early 1960's between the Social Security Administration and Congress. During this time period, the aged population had grown from 3 million in 1900 to 12 million in 1950 and only 1 in 8 had health insurance. Private insurance companies had long considered this aging population with its dependency on increased medical services and history of chronic illness to be a "bad risk-. After much discussion in Congress with several proposals and testimonies given by major organizations, such as the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the AFL-CIO, Medicare (as part of the Social Security Amendments of 1965) was signed into law by President Johnson on July 30, 1965. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people 65 years of age or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure with dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD). Current benefits for Medicare are divided into two different parts: Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. .
As of January 1, 2003, the current benefits for Medicare Part A includes care in acute inpatient hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice care and some home health care. An example of a Medicare Part A benefits are acute inpatient hospital bed days. A benefit period begins the day you go to a hospital and the benefit period ends when you have not received hospital or skilled nursing care for 60 days in a row. If you go into the hospital after one benefit period has ended, a new benefit period begins. There is no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have. The amount a participant has to pay is the following: .
