ram and its lack of medical ethics. In fact, many organizations in Canada have formed coalitions to prevent incidents like this from occurring. One such coalition, the Friends of Medicare, was instrumental in helping pass the Canada Health Act in 1994 (Marmor). The Act is designed to ensure that Canadians receive comprehensive medical care at no cost.As mentioned earlier, most Americans would rather see the Medicare program revamped instead of replaced. One of the measures that the government took was the establishment of the Medicare HMO (health maintenance organization). This program was designed to allow HMO subscribers the ability to use any hospital or physician. Previously, patients who contracted with HMOs were only allowed to use hospitals and physicians under contract with that HMO provider (Marmor 192). As a result, many people feared that HMO's were more worried about money, then the health of its subscriber. With the advent of Medicare HMO, many more people subscribed to different providers. According to the Medicare HMO Internet site, the total membership of HMO's has risen to over 7 million people as a result of its partnership with the Medicare program (MCOL). The problem with the HMO is that it is an even more private form of healthcare insurance then Medicare, and therefore costs more to the individual. Whereas much of the spending for Medicare is provided by payroll taxes, many employers do not even contract with health maintenance organizations due to cost (Ryan). Therefore, subscribers must pay more in premiums each month, then the estimated $45 monthly Medicare charge.By using revenue from the budget surplus to cover Medicare costs, the national government would be benefiting itself, as well as Medicare subscribers. As previously mentioned, payroll taxes and social security taxes, current sources for Medicare funding, would be considerably lower and more elderly and disabled persons would be able to enr...
