Medicare & Medicaid celebrating 50 years

The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that Truman, an advocate for expanded health care during his presidency, was the first person to enroll. Before 1966, roughly half of all seniors were uninsured, and many disabled individuals, families with children, pregnant women and low-income working Americans were unable to afford the medical care they needed to stay healthy and productive.

To celebrate the occasion, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had an event at Florida global University to reflect on the impact of the programs during the past half century, as well as look forward at how they can keep expanding and improving. Johnson signed the amendment to the Social Security Act, giving life to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For plan years 2011-15, the average Medicare Part D monthly premium for a basic plan was between $30 and $32. “I think a lot of people don’t realize how important Medicaid is for the elderly also as well as Medicare”.

“As a member of the committee that has jurisdiction over these programs in Congress, I have a long legislative history of fighting to preserve, protect, and expand Medicare and Medicaid“, Neal wrote.

“That was a National Guard volunteer regiment”, he said, “and when a man got turned down because he was physically unfit, that was not only tragic to him, but it was tragic to us who wanted him to serve with us”.

In 2015, people with Medicare in the “doughnut hole” received a 55 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs and a 35 percent discount on generic drugs.

Strong majorities among Democrats (89 percent), Republicans (69 percent) and independents (72 percent) view Medicare as very important.

He took aim at the remarks by a Republican contender for the presidential nomination, Florida governor Jeb Bush, who said that he wanted to “phase out” Medicare and called the system “actuarially unsound.”

The best way to remember the difference between the programs?

Medicaid presents annual budget challenges for states.

Nursing home residents using Medicaid to cover the cost of their care.

Not everyone is a fan of Medicare and Medicaid and how they now operate. Rose said “bipartisan” efforts to improve the program has been done and should be done again. “Insurance is least expensive when it covers the most people; the large size of government-sponsored health insurance provides economies of scale and the greatest ability to negotiate over prices and control costs”. During the last fifty years, the programs have evolved to include coverage for essential cancer screening and treatments, including radiation oncology care in hospitals and community-based clinics. The forecast, through 2024, does not foresee a return to pre-recession days of torrid health care inflation, as the government and private employers try to revamp the way they pay hospitals and doctors to emphasize quality over quantity.

Retired U.S. Rep. John Dingell Jr., who spent almost 60 years in the U.S. House, kept the wooden gavel he wielded to preside over the passage of Medicare in 1965. Medicare and Medicaid are among the most efficient and well-managed health insurance programs in the world. “You couldn’t have a segregated medical care system”.

She said targeted education programs can help African-American males realize the importance of math and science and help prepare them to succeed in high school, college and beyond.