Celebrating 50 Years of Medicare and Medicaid
July 30, 2015
12:23 PM EDT
President Harry Truman fought for years to pass a bill to provide low-cost health care for elderly Americans. Yet, it took almost two decades for his ideas to come to fruition: On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid. He honored President Truman at the ceremony by enrolling Harry Truman, at age 81, and his wife Bess Truman as the first Medicare beneficiaries.
“No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years. No longer will young families see their own incomes, and their own hopes, eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep moral obligations to their parents, and to their uncles, and their aunts.”
—President Lyndon B. Johnson, July 30, 1965
In the first six months, more than 2.5 million Americans benefitted from Medicare-covered hospital care. Fifty years later, 55.2 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare.
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This is the Medicare card believed to have been given to Harry Truman by President Lyndon Johnson.
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This is the Medicare card believed to have been given to Bess Truman by President Lyndon Johnson.
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President Lyndon Johnson hands President Harry S. Truman a pen as Lady Bird Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and Bess Truman look on.
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President Lyndon Johnson signs the Medicare Bill. President Harry S. Truman is seated next to him.
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The first page of the press release issuing the remarks President Lyndon Johnson made upon signing the Social Security Amendments of 1965.
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The second page of the press release issuing the remarks President Lyndon Johnson made upon signing the Social Security Amendments of 1965.
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The third page of the press release issuing the remarks President Lyndon Johnson made upon signing the Social Security Amendment of 1965.
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The entry from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Daily Diary from when he signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965.
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Page 1 of the Social Security Act.
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Page 2 of the Social Security Act.
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President Johnson took the Social Security Amendments one step further than Medicare, also creating Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to low-income Americans. President Obama has continued to expanded high-quality, affordable health insurance coverage to millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act. Medicare has gotten stronger and is protected for years to come. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have helped 8.6 million people get covered through Medicaid expansion, which is saving lives like Timothy’s and Joanne's. So, after 50 years of Medicare and Medicaid, these programs are stronger than ever, working together to build a healthier America.
“In this anniversary of those incredible achievements, we need to recommit ourselves to finishing the work that earlier generations began -- make sure this is a country that remains one where no matter who you are or where you started off, you’re treated with dignity, your hard work is rewarded, your contributions are valued, you have a shot to achieve your dreams whatever your age.”
—President Obama at the White House Conference on Aging, July 13, 2015
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