Yes.. to some degree. It is to ensure that in case you find yourself in a bad situation, there is a safety net for you. Again, you can't take things for granted. Anything bad can happen at any time. I personally have never used those programs and don't plan to but in reality I want them to be there if some thing really bad happens through no fault of my own. Everyone needs a helping hand every once in a while. Don't take things for granted.
The person whom I was responding to about the 95 yr old grandma that takes $1 million to stay alive is false and unrealistic based on my experiences with the elderly. All elderly people expect to die and they plan for that. It's completely absurd and ignorant for that poster to say that the 95 old is selfish to take money to stay alive to watch Golden Girls. No money goes to them personally. If anything, Medicare helps pay for their hospital expenses that most old people cannot afford. Look up the rate of deaths and bankruptcies of old people before Medicare. I know personally that Medicare has helped many many people.
You don't want to pay for them but you will need it too at some point because you will be old too and will have health issues. Would you prefer not to have Medicare? So you pay a million dollars if you have a health condition at the old of 65? Without Medicare, health insurance companies will not cover old people because they have the most health problems.
Talk to your parents and grandparents about it and you'll have a better understanding.