Final answer:
The nurse should inform retirees that Medicare payment fees are influenced by payroll taxes and individual service costs. The program, which also includes premiums, coinsurance, and deductibles, faces long-term challenges that may necessitate future reforms.
Step-by-step explanation:
When conducting an education program for a group preparing for retirement, the nurse should include information on how Medicare is a federally funded insurance program which bases the fee for payment on various factors. While the student's question does not specify these factors, it's important to understand that Medicare covers hospitalization, doctor visits, and other medical expenses through its different parts and is mainly funded through payroll taxes. Participants in Medicare pay premiums for some parts of the plan, and those premiums along with the coinsurance and deductibles they may incur, are influenced by the services they receive and the structure of their specific Medicare plan.
Additionally, the nurse should explain that Medicare is one of the United States' largest social insurance programs and, similar to Social Security, it's currently a pay-as-you-go system. As populations age and healthcare costs rise, the structure of Medicare presents significant long-term fiscal challenges. Reforms may be necessary to ensure sustainability, which might include the adjustment of benefits, eligibility age, or changes to the payroll taxes that fund the program.