Medicare, created in 1965 and funded mainly by payroll taxes, aims to provide affordable health care to Americans aged 65 and older. About 69 million people are currently enrolled.
A study led by researchers at Brown and Harvard analyzed Medicare enrollment files and death records from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for all 50 states. They counted deaths among adults ages 18 to 64 from 2012 to 2022 and excluded people already eligible for Medicare for other reasons.
From 2012 to 2022 deaths in that age group increased by 27%. The rise was larger for Black adults than for white adults. The researchers say many people pay into Medicare their whole lives but die before they can use it, and they recommend that policymakers review when coverage is available.
Difficult words
- payroll tax — money taken from workers' wages to fund programspayroll taxes
- enrollment — process of signing people up for a programenrollment files
- analyze — carefully study data or information to understandanalyzed
- exclude — not include someone or something in a groupexcluded
- eligible — allowed to have or receive something
- policymaker — person who creates government rules or planspolicymakers
- coverage — health care services paid for by insurance
- death record — official document that shows a person's deathdeath records
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Discussion questions
- Should the age for Medicare eligibility be reviewed? Why or why not?
- How do you feel about people paying into Medicare but dying before they can use it?
- What factors should policymakers consider when they review when coverage is available?
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