History Of Medicare

Here in the United States there are millions of senior citizens who can’t afford health care coverage or they are disabled and not able to work. In 1965 Due to the large number of people without health care President Lyndon B. Johnson created a means to serve a certain group of people who did not have health care coverage. Medicaid and Medicare were added to the Social Security Act in that same year. The government programs which came about are called Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid and Medicare were setup to provide medical and health related services to a group here in the United States. Although Medicaid and Medicare are two different programs, they both are managed by the centers for Medicaid and Medicare services which is a division …show more content…
Medicaid is social welfare that serves about 40 million people. The overall goal is to discuss in brief detail the background of the programs and describe how they have evolved over the last forty years. The initial reason behind Medicare was to provide health insurance to the United States senior citizens beginning in 1966. After more than forty years the Medicare program is now available to more than 42 million people. Again the Medicare program was designed for senior citizens but it is also available to serve individuals under the age of 65 who are deemed permanently disabled. Medicare is health insurance that pays hospital and medical care for these individuals. Medicare consists of two main parts, Part A and Part B and also two additional parts, Part C and Part D. Medicare Part A is the hospital …show more content…
Between March and July of 1965 the House of Representatives and the Senate passed “the Mills Bill” which was a package of health benefits and social security improvements. In July of 1965 President Johnson signed the H.R. 6675 (Public Law 89-97). The state of Missouri was the first to start using Medicare and it started with Harry S Truman. In July 1966 Medicare became active to everyone who was 65 years old or older and they were automatically covered by Medicare Part A. In 1969 the Task Force on Prescription drugs released the last report listing the cost and feasibility of adding medication to the coverage. In October 1972 President Nixon signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972. These amendments were the first changes made to Medicare since its initial start in 1966. Medicare became available to people who received disability in 1973. Almost 2 million people receiving disability benefits were covered. Changes to the social security amendments in 1983 created a payment plan system for the Medicare program. The Participating Physicians Program was established in 1984 in order to freeze physician fees. Between the years of 1985 and 1989 the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act was created. This particular act made Medicare a requirement for new employees holding state and local government positions. The Emergency Extension Act was also