Deck 12: Medicare

Question 1

The most important source of funding for Medicare is
a. the federal income tax.
b. premiums paid by elders and deducted from their monthly Social Security checks.
c. a 2.9 percent payroll tax paid by all workers, regardless of their age.
d. proceeds from the Medicare Trust Fund.
e. a tax on the health insurance premiums pay by all group plans.

Answer 1

a 2.9 percent payroll tax paid by all workers, regardless of their age.

Question 2

For part A coverage of Medicare, the patient pays a deductible approximately equal to the cost of the first day in the hospital; Medicare pays
a. for days 2-30.
b. for days 2-60.
c. for days 2-90.
d. for the remainder of the hospital stay, however long it may be

Answer 2

for days 2-60 .

Question 3

Possibly, the most serious flaw in the Medicare system is the fact that
a. the deductible is too high for most elders to afford.
b. it provides no real protection against catastrophic losses resulting from unusually long hospital stays.
c. the definition of an episode of illness can lead to patients paying the deductible more than once during the calendar year.
d. coverage for outpatient drugs is poor.
e. elders are required to pay monthly premiums to participate in Part B.

Answer 3

it provides no real protection against catastrophic losses resulting from unusually long hospital stays.

Question 4

The only disease-specific group eligible for Medicare are those suffering from
AIDS.
a. end-stage renal disease.
b. advanced coronary artery disease.
c. metastasized cancer.
d. diabetes

Question 5

The Medicare pay-as-you-go system is jeopardized by
a. an overly generous fee schedule that pays physicians more than private insurance for most procedures.
b. the changing demographics of the U.S. population with an increasing percentage over the age of 65.
c. a reliance on the premiums paid by the elderly themselves to fund a majority of the total cost of the system.
d. allowing physicians to balance bill their patients.
e. the rising costs of long-term care.

Question 6

One of the most serious weaknesses in the Medicare system is that
a. patients are not able to choose their own physicians.
b. the definition of an episode of illness is too restrictive.
c. it provides poor insurance coverage for unusually long hospital stays.
d. patients must pay a deductible every time they enter the hospital.
e. Part B is voluntary.

Question 7

Medicare and Medicaid were enacted by the Johnson administration in 1965 as amendments to which federal law already in existence?
a. Welfare Act of 1960.
b. Social Security Act.
c. Employee Retirement and Income Security Act.
d. Managed Care Act.
e. Equal Rights Act.

Question 8

Participation in Part B of Medicare is
a. applicable to supplemental hospital payments.
b. applicable to nursing home stays
c. voluntary.
d. involuntary.
e. none of the above.

Question 9

Physicians who accept assignment on their Medicare patients
a. bill patients for 80 percent of the allowable fee.
b. agree to forego balance billing.
c. accept the allowable fee for all services.
d. agree to charge private insurance patients the same fees as Medicare patients.
e. Both b and c.