Deck 5: Medicare

Question 1

The first congressional act to deal with the aged poor was the

A) the Kerr Mills Act
B) the Hill-Burton Act
C) the Affordable Care Act
D) the Title 18 Amendments to the 1935 Social Security Act

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In 1963, about what percentage of the elderly had health insurance

A) twenty-five percent
B) fifty percent
C) sixty percent
D) seventy five percent

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Part A of Medicare is financed primarily by

A) a payroll tax trust fund
B) general tax revenues
C) premium payments
D) special sales tax on cigarettes

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A deductible is

A) the percentage of a medical bill that the patient has to pay.
B) the amount of a medical bill that a patient does not have to pay.
C) the amount a patient has to pay before insurance will pay anything.
D) none of the above.

Question 5

Chapter 5 argues that many Medicare beneficiaries are

A) underinsured
B) fully covered for their medical costs
C) are worse off than Medicaid recipients
D) are very dissatisfied with Medicare

Question 6

Which of the following are ways to supplement Medicare?

A) Employee retirement benefits.
B) Medicaid
C) Medicare Advantage
D) all of the above

Question 7

Those who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid tend to be

A) in better health than those not eligible for both.
B) younger than the average Medicaid beneficiary.
C) disproportionately female and minority
D) disproportionately male

Question 8

An important piece of legislation that first began the transformation of Medicare was

A) the Medicare Modernization Act.
B) the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
C) the Affordable Care Act.
D) the American Health Care Act

Question 9

Concentration of healthcare spending refers to

A) the high percentage of spending on hospitals.
B) much of health care spending taking place in coastal states.
C) a small percentage of the population accounting for a large percentage of healthcare spending.
D) the huge amount of spending on health care by the federal government.

Question 10

The prescription drug benefit was added to Medicare by

A) the Medicare Modernization Act.
B) the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
C) the Affordable Care Act.
D) the American Health Care Act

Question 11

The "doughnut hole" is

A) the portion of a hospital bill that beneficiaries have to pay.
B) the number of people who cannot afford to pay for all their health care under Medicare but have too much income to qualify for Medicaid.
C) the gap between what Medicare spends and taxes that support Medicare.
D) the coverage gap in Part D, where Medicare beneficiaries pay most of the costs of prescription medications.

Question 12

The Medicare Advantage plan was created by which piece of legislation?

A) the Medicare Modernization Act.
B) the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
C) the Affordable Care Act.
D) the American Health Care Act

Question 13

What percentage of Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in 2017?

A) ten percent
B) thirty-one percent
C) fifty percent
D) seventy percent

Question 14

In chapter 5, the authors argue that there are some parallels between the Medicare Modernization Act and the Affordable Care Act. Which of the following were those parallels?

A) Both had individual mandates.
B) Both had tax penalties.
C) Both required people buying plans on virtual markets.
D) All of the above.

Question 15

Why did Medicare expenditures increase so dramatically?

A) More people were enrolled.
B) Prices for services increased.
C) Medicare benefits became more generous.
D) All of the above.

Question 16

When policymakers attempted to control Medicare costs, they focused first on

A) physician costs.
B) prescription drug costs.
C) hospital costs
D) long-term nursing home costs.

Question 17

Which of the following were reforms designed to change delivery and payment systems in Medicare?

A) accountable care organizations
B) bundled payment systems
C) medical homes
D) all of the above

Question 18

Medicare payment for about what percentage of long-term care?

A) 9 percent
B) 23 percent
C) 27 percent
D) 31 percent

Question 19

About what percent of the elderly are in a nursing home?

A) 2.9 percent
B) 3.2 percent
C) 4.5 percent
D) 5 percent

Question 20

Which part of Medicare pays for home health care services?

A) Part A
B) Part B
C) Part D
D) Parts A and B

Question 21

The most common approach controlling Medicare costs is to

A) raise Medicare taxes
B) raise Medicare cost-sharing
C) raise the eligible age for getting Medicare
D) cutting provider reimbursements

Question 22

The most significant proposal to rein in Medicare costs is

A) enroll more beneficiaries in Medicare Advantate plans.
B) make greater use of accountable care organizations
C) premium support plans
D) lower provider reimbursements

Question 23

Premium support is an example of a

A) defined benefits plan.
B) defined contribution plan.
C) private health insurance plan.
D) none of the above.

Question 24

What change did the Affordable Care Act make in Medicare?

A) Shrunk the doughnut hole.
B) Increased payments to Medicare Advantage Plans.
C) Cut provider reimbursements.
D) all of the above.

Question 25

Democrats began proposing a health care plan for the elderly after

A) the election of President Lyndon Johnson.
B) the end of the Great Recession.
C) the failure of Congress to pass national health insurance during the Truman administration.
D) the passage of Medicaid.

Question 26

Since 2003, the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries with employer- or union-sponsored plans has

A) stayed about the same.
B) declined.
C) increased.
D) moved up and down depending on the economy.

Question 27

A major problem with the Medicare prescription drug benefit is that

A) not all necessary medications are covered.
B) Medicare regulates the price of medications offered under the benefit.
C) there are few plans that offer the benefit to Medicare beneficiaries.
D) there is no cap or ceiling on spending for prescription medications on the part of beneficiaries.

Question 28

The Medicare Modernization Act had what impact on payments to Medicare Advantage plans?

A) It increased payments.
B) It decreased payments.
C) It increased payments for HMOs but cut them for PPOs.
D) It had no impact on payments of Medicare Advantage plans.

Question 29

On which program does the federal government spend more?

A) Medicaid
B) Medicare
C) Veterans Health Administration
D) Indian Health Service

Question 30

Over time, cost-sharing on the part of Medicare recipients has

A) stayed about the same.
B) increased.
C) decreased.
D) gone up and down.

Question 31

Unlike Medicaid,

A) beneficiaries have to demonstrate financial need to become eligible.
B) beneficiaries have to use up much of their assets before becoming eligible.
C) benefits vary from state to state.
D) beneficiaries do not have to meet income and wealth requirements to become eligible.