Rhode Island Life Insurance Practice Exam

What is Old Age and Survivors Health Insurance (OASDHI) also known as?

1. Medicare

2. Social Security

3. Medicaid

4. Welfare Assistance

The correct answer is: Social Security

Old Age and Survivors Health Insurance (OASDHI) is primarily known as Social Security. This program is a government initiative that provides financial assistance to individuals who are retired, as well as to their survivors and the disabled. The name "Social Security" encompasses not just the retirement benefits but also the provisions for survivors’ benefits and disability insurance. Social Security is vital as it helps ensure that individuals have a source of income when they reach retirement age, lose a spouse, or face disabilities that prevent them from working. It is funded through payroll taxes collected under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). While Medicare provides health insurance to individuals who are 65 years and older as well as some younger people with disabilities, and Medicaid offers health coverage to low-income individuals and families, neither of these is synonymous with OASDHI. Welfare assistance generally refers to various forms of government aid aimed at providing financial support to the needy, rather than the specific benefits provided under Social Security. Thus, OASDHI's identity as Social Security is definitive in understanding the context of American social insurance programs.