Medicare is a national social insurance program in the United States. It is administered by the federal government. It provides health insurance to citizens aged 65 and over. These citizens must have initially worked and contributed to trust funds. Additionally, Medicare covers dialysis patients or those with end-stage renal disease. This program was created in 1966. Medicaid, on the other hand, is a social health program for both low-income families and individuals in the United States. It covers citizens of all ages, whose salaries are not enough to cover health care. Eligible individuals must be U.S. citizens, low-income, and people with disabilities. Medicare has several advantages. For starters, a person who has Medicare can still use their own private insurance plan for a routine checkup. Therefore, we are not absolutely tied only to the Medicare program. However, each member is assigned a primary care physician, whom they must consult, to receive all the benefits. Better yet, if an individual requires special attention, a specialist is designated by Medicare, usually suggested by the primary care physician (Berwick, 2011). In addition, monthly payments are heavily subsidized, or in some cases, there are no monthly payments. In addition, medications are included in the kitty. However, you have to contribute a little to cover part of the cost of the medications. Medicare benefits are similar across the country. This is not the case with Medicaid. Medicaid policies change in different states. Nevertheless, Medicaid has common strengths at all levels. Medicaid tends to give a lot of special attention to pregnant women. It offers nurse-midwife services, family......middle of paper......more prone to chronic illnesses. As for Medicaid, it must improve its management of chronic care. Chronic care management should be made more affordable for people with chronic illnesses (Baicker, Katherine, & Amy Finkelstein, 2011). This way, the program will benefit more people. The program should also introduce and support home and community services. Providing care at home will cost much less than in nursing homes. Additionally, Medicaid must provide personalized services to beneficiaries. Patient needs are not equal. Therefore, Medicaid should be flexible enough to abandon the one-size-fits-all mentality. Regardless, we cannot ignore the fact that Medicare and Medicaid have revolutionized healthcare in the United States. By giving credit where credit is due, these two programs continue to save millions of defenseless lives..