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I love history, and I think it is imperative for people to remember the leaders of this nation who have made their lives better, and to give credit where credit is due.
Sixty years ago, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Medicare and Medicaid Act, which was officially known as the Social Security Amendment of 1965. The passage of the Social Security Amendments would assure a health program under the name of Medicare for the elderly 65 years and older, and the other, Medicaid, would provide health insurance for people with limited or low income.
It was funded by a tax on the earnings of those employed and the employers matched the contributions. This has been the single most successful program to benefit the American healthcare for more than 60 years.
Medicare and Medicaid had been supported by a long line of honorable presidents, Republican and Democrats, who care about the health of the disabled, elderly and the poor. According to presidential records, a nationwide health insurance was first proposed by Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, then President Harry S. Truman took up the mantle in 1945 to fund a national health insurance and said he believed that a strong country started with healthy people.
Twenty years later, Johnson said, “Medicare would be a vital protection for elderly Americans from the ‘hopeless despair’ of not being able to afford health care.”
According to presidential records, these are the other presidents who sought to make our health care better. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was successful in implementing disability assistance providing funding to help the disabled return to work. He also expanded Social Security to include disability insurance.
John F. Kennedy made it his priority to pass Medicare into law, but was assassinated before reaching that goal. Lyndon B. Johnson pursued that goal and signed it into law. He called Harry Truman “The Daddy of Medicare.”
President Richard M. Nixon extended Medicare to another 2 million individuals, and he also signed the 1972 HMO Act which provided up-grants and loans for health maintenance organizations, one of the three major provider networks available today. President Gerald Ford signed the Privacy Act in 1974 which outlined comprehensive rights to individual personal information, which gives the right to view their medical records and control how the government uses the information.
President Jimmy Carter set up the Health Care Financing Administration to manage Medicare and Medicaid under one roof. President William J. Clinton set up the HIPAA of 1966 (Health Insurance Portability & Account), which prevented unauthorized sharing of private health information.
President George W. Bush signed the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act, which brought about the Medicare Part D, the coverage of prescription drugs. MMA made the most significant changes in the Medicare Program since the enactment in 1965.
President Barack Obama strengthened Medicare with the Affordable Care Act, which he signed into law March 23, 2010. This has been acknowledged as the most important legislation since Medicare and Medicaid was signed into law in 1965.
President Joe Biden successfully ended the Covid-19 pandemic by implementing organized distribution of vaccines and lowered the price of drugs, including a $35 cap on insulin. He brought about the Inflation Reduction Act, which for the first time gave Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices.
And now we have President Donald Trump, who in his “big beautiful bill” will cut $1.1 trillion from the Medicare and Medicaid Program over 10 years, and 11.8 million people will lose their health care. Not to mention the closing of our rural hospitals and nursing homes, because it was reported that more than 50% of their income comes from Medicaid.
Americans who are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid should be calling their state and federal congressmen and representatives and let them know this is unacceptable in the United States of America. Our government is supposed to work toward a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty.
Kandy Barnard is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. To talk about the Andrews Valley, call her at 828-361-3268 or email kandybarnard@gmail.com.