The History of Medicare
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare & Medicaid Act into law – with former President Harry Truman by his side. We’re here to fight for their legacy.
President Johnson flew to Independence, Missouri -- the hometown of former President Harry S Truman to sign the bill. Truman had first championed a similar health program during his Presidency. (Photo courtesy of the LBJ Library, Austin, Texas.)
Medicare wasn’t always a partisan political issue. Here President Ronald Reagan signs the 1983 law which created Medicare’s well-regarded hospital payment system.
On April 20, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the Social Security Amendments of 1983, which created a new Medicare hospital payment system called “Diagnosis-Related Groups” (DRGs). See Public Law 98-21 which established the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), replacing the old cost-based reimbursement model with a fixed-rate system based on a patient's specific DRG category. The system was copied around the world.
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law.
The legislation followed nearly a century of efforts by presidents and lawmakers to expand access to health coverage. Obama was joined at the signing by Vice President Joe Biden, congressional leaders, and Americans whose experiences with the healthcare system helped illustrate the need for reform.
Medicare has helped millions of Americans.
We’re committed to defending it.
Medicare has been a great accomplishment of the United States Government and the American taxpayers who have sustained Medicare since 1965.
Medicare has had its regulatory issues but it has also helped physicians and other medical professions become the highest paid in all the world.
Medicare has lifted millions of seniors out of poverty and it helped stimulate a hospital construction program that has made American hospitals the envy of the world.
Yes, Medicare has cost more than first estimated but the program can be improved to become more efficient and expanded to help more Americans.
We’ll Help Candidates who support Medicare
With your support, we will:
Support candidates who defend Medicare
Hold critics of Medicare accountable for the often-unwarranted criticism of the program
Build an infrastructure to help in rapid messaging
Please consider making a contribution today, so that we defend the program that has helped so many Americans.
People enrolled in Medicare can choose to get coverage under traditional Medicare (“Fee-for-Service”) or managed care (“Medicare Advantage”)
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