Medicare_and_Medicaid.docx(1) Running Head: MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

Medicare_and_Medicaid.docx(1)  Running Head:  MEDICARE AND MEDICAID                                                                                1  MN 507  Medicare and Medicaid  Purdue Global University MN 507  Introduction  Medicaid and Medicare play an extremely important role in providing much needed healthcare for the elderly and underserved populations. Medicaid is an assistance program that is used to serve low-income people of every age. (Digital Communications Division, 2015). Whereas, Medicare is an insurance program that serves people over 65 primarily, whatever their income; and serves younger disabled people and dialysis patients (Digital Communications Division, 2015). Medicare and Medicaid both assist in delivering care to those in need of healthcare coverage and assist in reducing the costs for these patients.  Medicaid  Medicaid was created in 1965 in tandem with the Medicare program. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program through which states, the District of Columbia and the territories receive federal funding to assist in the delivery of health and long-term services to low-income families and individuals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). Before Medicaid there were very few resources available to assist the states in paying for the services that they provided to low income and underserved populations. Medicaid was designed to expand access to health care for low-income individuals and families. When medicaid was established, states that elected to participate in