Even before the Affordable Care Act was enacted, the government-run Medicare and the state-run Medicaid programs extended healthcare services to all U.S. citizens above age 65, to citizens with disabilities, and to citizens belonging to low-income groups. Considering the rising cost of healthcare services, create a PowerPoint presentation comparing the two programs.

This activity will help you distinguish between Medicare and Medicaid. It will also enable you to assess the impact of Medicare and Medicaid on organizational financial performance and strategic planning.

Directions

Create a PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes. In your speaker notes, be sure to indicate which notes belong with each slide.

If you need writing support, access the Online Writing Center through the Academic Support module of your course.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Medicare vs. Medicaid: Describe the differences between the federal Medicare program and the Medicaid program in your state and how they impact financial reimbursement from the perspective of the healthcare system. Consider the following questions to guide your response:
   • What are the features of the two healthcare programs?
   • Considering the age and disabilities of the groups covered by the two programs, what aspects of healthcare services will be in most demand?
   • How will you obtain updates about the changes in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and the state Medicaid Physician Fee Index?
2. Costing and Strategy: Explain why healthcare administrators need to consider cost when strategically planning for Medicare and Medicaid population growth. Consider the following questions to guide your response:
   • What is the percentage growth in consumer base?
   • Which healthcare services (for example, virtual healthcare, wellness programs, fitness center memberships, and so on) are the most in demand because of this consumer growth?
   • What changes can you propose in healthcare strategies to meet this change?
3. Cost-Reduction Initiatives: Identify cost-reduction initiatives and state how you would operationalize them within the healthcare environment. Consider the following questions to guide your response:
   • Which are the services with the greatest potential to reduce costs?
   • Would external relationships with other healthcare systems or service providers help reduce costs?
   • Would helping the consumers choose the correct healthcare plans help curb costs?
4. Cost Control: Describe at least two effective, alternative ways to control rising healthcare costs Consider the following questions to guide your response:
   • Which are the healthcare services where the costs have gone up the most?
   • Which preventative healthcare services could be used to control these costs?
   • Which less expensive services could be offered as alternative options?

Note that your presentation should be evidence based. Your citations should be from your independent search for evidence (not from the scenario, textbook, or module resources) of credible sources and be current within the last five years. You are required to cite a minimum of two sources overall. Refer to the IHP 630 Library Guide located in the Start Here section of the course for additional support.